

















LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Bl 1'Y I 

Chap. Copyright No. 


Shelf. 


Z.1 


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 





















V‘ 
















* 



















V. 


THE 


GREAT SALVATION 



ELY V. ZOLLARS, LL. D. 

President, and Professor of Moral Science and Biblical Literature, 


Hiram College. 



CINCINNATI 

The Standard Publishing Company 

Publishers of Christian Literature 






\ ^ 







h 


.z/» 


Copyright, 1895, by 

The Standard Publishing Company 


The Library 
of Congress 


WASHINGTON 



THIS VOLUME IS GRATEFULLY AND LOVINGLY DEDICATED 

©O MY FATHER AND MOTHER, WHO LEAVE 
TO THEIR CHILDREN THE RICHEST POSSIBLE 
LEGACY IN THEIR LIVES OF PATIENT INDUS- 
TRY, CHEERFUL SELF-DENIAL, AND UNWAV- 
ERING FAITH IN GOD. fflAY THE IlORD BE 
GRACIOUS TO THEM IN THEIR DECLINING. 

YEARS, AND MARE THE EVENING TIME LIGHT 
WITH HIS CHEERING PRESENCE, 



INTRODUCTION. 


i Every institution, whether secular or religious, has 
certain fundamental principles that determine its character, 
and out of which everything connected with it of a practical 
nature naturally and necessarily springs. In order to a clear 
and comprehensive view of the system, it is of the utmost 
importance to obtain a proper understanding of its great 
elementary fundamental principles. These truths find strong 
confirmation when applied to the religion of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. In order to a clear understanding of its character, 
and an adequate conception of its practical applications and 
possible blessings, a knowledge of certain fundamental matters 
called “First Principles” is imperative. It is the purpose 
of this volume to give, not, perhaps, an exhaustive, but a 
somewhat comprehensive, view of The First Principles of the 
Gospel of Christ, beginning with a consideration of the recog- 
nized moral malady of sin, thence passing onward to a study 
of the divine remedy as revealed in the gospel, thus tracing 
the path in the progress of the soul from the state of deprav- 
ity even unto the blessed consummation of a perfect character ; 
or, in other words, considering the steps in the journey of man 
from the “Paradise Lost” to the “Paradise Regained.” 

2. This discussion, as has already been intimated, can not 
be exhaustive. Each elementary principle entering into this 


VI. 


THE GEE AT SALVATION. 


complex system is so comprehensive in its intention, so vast 
in its extension, so important in its practical bearing, so com- 
plicated in its relations, that a volume might well be devoted to 
it instead of a single chapter, and the embarrassment resulting 
from the necessary limitations imposed by the plan of this 
work can readily be understood. 

3. We are well aware that such a discussion as the one 
proposed, and set forth in the following pages, is by no means 
a new thing. Many books have been written on “ First 
Principles,” but there are reasons why this work should be 
done again and again. Every generation must, to some 
extent, rewrite its own books, just as it must preach anew its 
own sermons, and discuss again the old questions of social 
and political life. Henry Ward Beecher, in the Introduction 
to his Life of Christ, says, in justification of such a work, con- 
fronted as he was with more than a hundred lives of Christ : 
“Our age has developed wants no deeper, perhaps, nor more 
important, than those of the apostolic age, but needs essen- 
tially different. We live for different ends, we have other 
aspirations. We are plagued with new infidelities of our own, 
we are proud in our own way, and vain after our own manner. 
To meet all these everchanging necessities of the human heart 
and of society, men are ordained to preach the gospel. If 
merely reading the text as it was originally delivered were 
enough, why should there be preachers ? It is the business of 
preachers to readapt truth from age to age to man’s ever- 
renewing wants. And what is this but doing, by single 
passages, what a Life of Christ attempts to do systematically 
and in some dramatic form for the whole.” The principle 


IN TROD UC TION. 


vii. 


involved in the view thus clearly and sensibly expressed seems 
to me to be a very general one. If it holds good with respect 
to single passages of God’s Word, and justifies a rewriting of 
the life of Christ again and again, does it not hold, with equal 
force, in favor of a restatement of the great plan of salvation 
as a whole, or as it finds its embodiment in certain component 
factors and elementary principles ? This attempt in no way 
reflects on previous statements or discussions of the subject, 
but it simply recognizes and proceeds upon the principle that 
truth needs to be repeatedly restated and set in its relations to 
everchanging conditions. Old truth thus becomes ever new. 
If I may succeed in even a measurable degree in such a restate- 
ment of this great question as shall meet the new conditions, 
my hope will be abundantly realized. I do not expect to 
present new truth (this, in the very nature of the case, would 
be impossible and undesirable), but to adapt the old truth to 
somewhat new and changed conditions, and possibly view it 
from some new angles of vision, and out of the midst of new 
experiences. 

4. But the reasons that have prompted the preparation of 
this volume are not entirely set forth by this general state- 
ment. During the last seven years we have attempted to give 
the whole body of students in Hiram College general lines of 
Bible instruction, aiming to furnish a somewhat comprehensive 
knowledge of the Bible in its broader features — such a knowl- 
edge as, in our judgment, every person laying claim to a 
liberal education ought to possess. The divisions of the 
book, and the purpose of each; the writings as viewed in 
their literary aspects ; the three great dispensations, and their 


Viii. THE GEE A T SAL VA TION. 

relations to each other ; the separate books, and the purpose 
of each, all this, and much more of a less general character, 
has been given to the whole body of students in the form of 
lectures and syllabi in a somewhat logical and systematic order. 
In the development of this purpose we were naturally led to 
consider “The Great Salvation,” which constitutes the marrow 
and fatness of the divine revelation, since Jesus Christ the 
Saviour is the central figure. This volume is simply the pre- 
sentation of this great subject in a way, we hope, that is 
reasonably adapted to the wants of the general Bible student. 
It was intended, primarily, for the students of Hiram Col- 
lege, but we trust that it may be found helpful (i) to young 
Christians who are seeking to build themselves up in a knowl- 
edge of spiritual truth, that thus they may be more fully 
equipped for the high service to which they have been called ; 
(2) to Sunday-school and Bible class teachers, both as a means 
of personal preparation and as a class-room text-book ; (3) to 
young men and women who are preparing for active service in 
the ministerial calling, whether as preachers or as teachers of 
the Word of God. With the hope and prayer that these 
results may be, at least in some measure, secured, this book is 
sent forth upon its mission. 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


CHAPTER I. 

SIN AND ITS CURE. 

Introduction: i. The doctrine of trinity seems to be one 
of very wide application. Illustrations are found on every 
hand, both in nature and revelation. 

(1) There is a trinity in the Deity : In creation there is God, 
Word, and Spirit; in redemption, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
This is in harmony with the declaration of John, that “the 
Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” 

(2) There is a trinity in our material world : The sea, earth, 
and sky constitute the sources from which man draws the three- 
fold supply necessary to sustain life, viz.: water, food, and air. 

(3) There is a trinity in man’s nature or being : He is com- 
posed of body, soul, and spirit ; or of physical, intellectual, and 
spiritual factors. 

(4) There is also a trinity in human history: The history of 
-the race, as revealed in the Bible, is made up of a period of 
innocence, a period of sinfulness or depravity, and a period 
of virtue ; at least this is true of a portion of the race that 
passes the age of accountability The same is true of indi- 
vidual history : There is a period of innocence, a period of sin, 
and potentially a period of virtue for each individual man. 

Holiness, as a term, may be applied to either innocence or 
virtue, or both. There is holy innocence and holy virtue, but 
the two are by no means identical. In speaking of holiness, 


2 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


the distinction between innocence and virtue should always be 
observed. 

2. Each state entering into this triune history is reached by 
three successive and logically related steps : 

(1) Holy innocence results when God alone speaks and man 
hears, believes, and obeys ; or, in other words, when man moves 
in harmony with God’s will, not as the result of choice, but 
because there is no conflicting voice. This was the condition 
of man before he fell. There was but one voice of authority, 
and that was the voice of God, and he obeyed it. 

However, this view of the case is not entirely exhaustive. 
Holy innocence may be a purely negative excellence. It may 
simply be freedom from harm or guilt, because the individual 
knows no distinction between right and wrong. He has never 
chosen the one or the other simply because he can not discrim- 
inate between them. Even should he do a thing wrong in 
itself, to him it would not be wrong, because he is incapable 
of making moral distinctions. Such persons are not account- 
able. They are without sin, and hence they are not under con- 
demnation. All infants, before they reach the age at which 
they can discriminate between right and wrong, belong to this 
class, and are, consequently, without sin. As soon as they 
pass this point, innocence is no longer possible. Two conflict- 
ing voices speak to them, and they must obey the one or the 
other from choice. In either case, innocence is no longer pos- 
sible. 

(2) Depravity results when both God and Satan speak, and 
man hears, believes and obeys Satan ; or, in other words, when- 
right and wrong are presented, and man chooses the wrong 
instead of the right. This is true even though the choice of 
the heart may not find expression in word or act. The out- 
ward expression is, in fact, but the sign of the inward condition. 

(3) Holy virtue results when both God and Satan speak, and. 
man hears, believes, and obeys God ; or, when right and wrong 


SIN AND ITS CURE. 




are presented, and man chooses the right in preference to the 
wrong. This is, therefore, a condition very superior to that 
of innocence. It is the result of choice. It is positive. It 
results from effort, from struggle, from the overcoming of evil 
propensities and desires. To achieve it involves a warfare, often 
severe and long continued. 

3. In studying man’s possible moral states, it is necessary 
to consider three wills — God’s will, man’s will, and Satan’s 
will. 

(1) When the former two coincide without opportunity for 
choice on man’s part, or because the individual knows no dis- 
tinction between right and wrong, innocence is the result 

(2) When the latter two coincide from choice on man’s 
part, depravity is the result. The individual is guilty, and is 
therefore under condemnation. Having reached the period of 
accountability, he is held responsible for his choice. 

(3) When the former two coincide from choice on man’s 
part, virtue is the result. Condemnation is removed, because, 
as an accountable being, the individual chooses the right and 
does it. 

In this view of the case the will of God is the fountain of 
order, harmony and blessedness. Man is saved so long as 
he is in harmony with that will. Involuntary harmony is the 
salvation of innocence ; voluntary harmony is the salvation of 
virtue. 

In the study of the Divine revelation we discover, — 

I. That the great purpose of God is the salvation of man. 

1. This salvation involves the bringing of man’s will into* 
harmony with the will of God, the fountain of true blessed- 
ness. 

(1) In the universe of matter, order and harmony reign,, 
because God’s will, the fountain of order and harmony, is su- 
preme. Matter, having no will of its own, moves in harmony 


4 


THE GEE A T SAL VA T70N. 


with God’s will as impressed upon the whole physical creation. 
The laws of nature are nothing more than the impressed will 
of God. Matter exercises no choice. One will alone oper- 
ates, and that is God’s will. 

(2) Not so, however, in the universe of mind. Salvation can 
not be accomplished by the direct, immediate and sovereign 
act of God. Man must be brought to move and act in har- 
mony with God’s will, in the free exercise of his own will. 
He must do so from choice, and not from necessity. Salvation, 
therefore, in the highest and fullest sense, results in virtue. 
Innocence, in a certain sense, is salvation, but not in the highest 
sense. The ultimate goal of the great salvation is virtue, in so 
far as it pertains to the subjective condition of the individual. 

2. This is reached in harmony with man’s physical, intel- 
lectual and moral nature. 

(1) It recognizes the dignity and importance of the body, 
and, consequently, it involves the principles of physical well- 
being. It provides for the proper and lawful gratification of 
the normal physical appetites, propensities, and desires. It 
subordinates the lower physical nature to the higher intel- 
lectual and spiritual nature. If there is a schism between the 
body and spirit, the body must yield. Hence says Paul, “I 
keep my body under. ” 

(2) It recognizes the constitutional elements of the soul ; 
it provides food for the intellectual nature ; it addresses man’s 
intelligence; it furnishes stimulants and excitants for man’s 
emotional nature ; it lays a firm hold upon the heart ; it influ- 
ences the will by means of argument, admonition, warning 
and motive. 

By this means man’s will is brought into harmony with 
God’s will, and salvation is the result. God’s will is supreme. 
Man is subordinate, but it is a willing subordination. He is 
obedient, but it is the obedience resulting from deliberate 
choice. 


SIN AND ITS CURE. 


h 

3. This salvation recognizes three actual or possible human 
states or conditions. 

(1) It views man as naturally holy through innocence. It 
regards this as man’s condition by virtue of his creation, and 
it is the only kind of holiness that can result from mere crea- 
tion. Man obeyed God’s voice because he had no choice. 
There was no alternative presented. No other voice spoke to 
him. As long as this holiness continued, man was happy. 
Holiness and happiness stand in the relation of cause and 
effect. Happiness is always an effect produced by adequate 
cause, and this cause is always and everywhere holiness. This 
view of the case reveals the folly of seeking for happiness in 
things external to the individual. 

“If happiness have not her seat and center in the' breast, 

We may be wise, or rich, or great, but never can be blessed.” 

(2) It is based on the fact that man is actually depraved. 
Two conflicting voices spoke to man, thus presenting to him 
the opportunity of choice. One was the voice of God, the 
other was the voice of Satan. Man, in the exercise of his 
freedom, chose to hear, believe, and obey Satan. Herein is 
sin. Man refuses to be obedient to the will of God, the foun- 
tain of order. Disorder and confusion are introduced into the 
moral universe. It follows, therefore, that the consequences 
of sin are very far reaching and terrible. Who can understand 
them ? Evidently God alone, and he alone, can provide the 
remedy. Whatever pertains to the changing of man’s depraved 
nature, and the consequent relations to God growing out of 
such change, God must specify. The disease is entirely too 
deep-seated for human prescription to reach. As holiness 
produces happiness, it follows that the loss of holiness involves 
the loss of happiness ; hence sin is the cause of wretchedness 
and misery. The solution of the problem how to make man 
holy, is a solution of the problem how to make man happy. 


6 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


Here is a fact that all reformers and philanthropists should 
recognize. 

(3) It proceeds on the assumption that man can be made 
holy through virtue. When man, in the exercise of his free- 
dom, with the alternatives of right and wrong placed before 
him, chooses to hear, believe, and obey God, the holiness of 
virtue is the result. Then man comes into possession, not of 
the innocence lost by disobedience, but of virtue gained by 
the triumph of right over wrong, or by the triumph of the 
principle of obedience to God over the principle of disobedi- 
ence. Man again moves in harmony with the Divine will from 
choice, and consequently he is saved. 

The Bible presents two beautiful pictures of man : one is 
the picture of innocence, when man, in his Eden home, walked 
with God, before the voice of the tempter came to him ; the 
other is a picture of virtue, when man, in the Paradise 
regained, again stands in the presence of God. How thrilling 
are the prophetic words : 

Who are these which are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they ? 
. . . These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed 

their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they 
before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple, and he that 
sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 

4. This salvation contemplates a threefold blessing : 

(1) Salvation from the guilt of sin. Man, having chosen 
to disobey God, is guilty. All sin is sin against God. When 
we sin against our fellow man, or even against ourselves, it is 
none the less sin against God. God holds proprietorship in all 
things, and he is the only proprietor in the universe. Guilt 
attaches to the soul until God forgives. Pardon is, therefore, a 
great necessity, and this is one of the great blessings of salvation. 

(2) Salvation from the practice of sin. Salvation contem- 
plates a life of goodness or obedience. This does not mean 
that man can live an absolutely perfect or sinless life. It 


SIN AND ITS CURE. 


7 


simply means that man’s will is brought in harmony with God’s 
will. If he sin, it is not the result of deliberate purpose, but 
of sudden impulse under the strain of great temptation. It is 
not the outgrowth of the governing principle of life, but con- 
trary to it. The will and desire harmonize with the will and 
desire of God. Sin causes intense contrition and a crying 
unto God for pardon and deliverance. By this means sinful 
habits are overcome, and a life of holiness developed. A 
character such as God approves is the result. 

(3) Salvation from the consequences oi sin. How much is 
involved in this, who can tell? To follow the line of Mr. 
Drummond's reasoning, life is correspondence to environment. 
When thi* correspondence is lacking, death results. When 
the physical organs correspond or respond to their environ- 
ment, life is the result. When the ear responds to sound, the 
eye to light, the lungs to air, etc., the organism is alive. 
When this correspondence is broken off, death ensues. 

God is the true and proper environment of the soul. Sin 
separates between man and God. The soul no longer corre- 
sponds to its proper environment, and spiritual death results. 
The sinner is, therefore, said to be dead in trespasses and sin. 
Of the saved it is said their lives are “hid with Christ in God.” 
To save man, therefore, means to deliver him from death, both 
here and hereafter ; or, in other words, it means to bestow on 
man the gift of eternal life. Hence the language of the apos- 
tle : “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal 
life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” In this threefold blessing 
man’s highest good is obtained. The best human conditions 
are realized, the noblest character is developed, and the hap- 
piest destiny is secured. In short, man’s highest possibilities 
are attained. 

5. This salvation involves a threefold Divine work: 

(1) Instruction : Paul declares that the Gentiles are “alien- 
ated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in 


s 


THE GEE AT SALVATION. 


them.” He also said to the Athenians that, “The times of 
this ignorance God overlooked, but now commandeth men 
that they should all everywhere repent.” The history of the 
introduction of sin into the world bears testimony to the same 
fact. Man, ignorant, untried, without experience, knowing 
neither the nature nor consequences of sin, believed Satan and 
fell. Our own experience corroborates this statement. We are 
cursed by our ignorance. We sin largely by reason of igno- 
rance. Here is our first great weakness. The first thing, 
therefore, that God proposes is instruction. He reveals to us 
the nature and consequences of sin, our condition, our rela- 
tions to each other and to him, and his great purposes con- 
cerning us. In all this the need of a prophet (teacher) is seen. 
Some one must bring the divine message to us. 

(2) Pardon : Here is man’s next great need. This involves 
a sovereign act of God, but there must be some grounds on 
which it can righteously be bestowed. Furthermore, our con- 
nection with God is broken by sin ; some one must appear in 
the presence of God for us as our mediator. He must present 
such offering as will justify God in justifying the believer. 
Here is seen man’s need of a priest. 

(3) Rule and guidance : The inferior must ever be subordi- 
nate to the superior, hence the mineral is subordinate to the 
vegetable, the vegetable to the animal, the irrational animal to 
man, and man should be subject to God. In this fact lies the 
principle that makes rule or kingship necessary. In man, the 
inferior or lower nature should be subject to the superior or 
higher nature ; hence every man is a kingdom within himself, 
and since there is a higher power than man, each should be a 
subject of the highest or heavenly rule. We therefore need a 
king. 

This idea of kingship not only implies subordination of the 
lower to the higher, or the rule of the kingly power, but it 
also implies protection. If it is the duty of the subject to 


SIN AND ITS CURE. 


9 


obey, it is the duty of the king to protect the subject against 
all enemies too strong for him. Satan, man’s great enemy, 
has been too strong for him. He has locked the mightiest in 
his prison-house of death. We need, as a king, some one 
strong enough to vanquish Satan, and to break open the prison- 
house of death and set the captives free. God has, conse- 
quently, ever sought to provide for man prophet, priest, and 
king, thus meeting man at his three great points of weakness, 
and, therefore, of deepest need. 

H. That this purpose of God moves to its final realization 
through three great Divine dispensations. 

Each dispensation constitutes a majestic step in a move- 
ment that culminates in human redemption. 

i. The first step in this sublime and. progressive unfolding 
of the Divine purpose is called the Patriarchal Dispensation. 
It is merely initiatory. God gives light, but it is comparatively 
dim, and the light is confined to a small circle. It was given 
to a few families that constituted a line of descent from Adam 
to Moses. God did not give the full light, because the world 
was not ready for a complete revelation. The fullness of time 
had not come. The full light consists in a complete revelation 
of God, but for this the world was not yet prepared. Condi- 
tions had to be matured through centuries and millenniums 
before the coming one could appear who would “ manifest God 
in the flesh,” which is the only revelation perfectly adapted 
to man. In the meantime, revelation must keep pace with the 
developments in human nature and human condition. The 
time had not yet come for the Sun of Righteousness to arise, 
but the gross darkness could, in some measure, be dispelled 
by the glimmering starlight and the fuller moonlight of pre- 
paratory dispensations. During these ages of unfolding plan 
and purpose, the salvation enjoyed by the elect few came 
through the three offices of prophet, priest, and king, as, in 


10 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


fact, it must necessarily come under all dispensations. When 
man’s threefold want is met, salvation is the result, and this is 
accomplished through prophet, or instructor ; priest, or media- 
tor ; and king, or ruler. 

We are cursed by our ignorance, alienated or separated from 
God by sin, and impotent to deliver ourselves from the bondage 
of our great enemy, Satan. His power must be broken by a 
ruler mightier than he. This deliverance culminates in a tri- 
umph over death. When this victory is achieved, the climax 
of salvation is reached ; hence, when man’s three great wants 
are met, salvation is complete. 

Owing to the limited revelation possible during this early 
period, and also on account of the simple nature of the wor- 
ship and the limited number embraced in the scope of the 
divine plan, these offices were centered in one man during the 
patriarchal dispensation. He was the head of the family, 
which consisted of the patriarch and his children, and their 
families, together with domestics and servants of various kinds. 
The patriarch, therefore, exercised the functions of the prophet, 
priest, and king. This order of things continued until the con- 
ditions had matured, when God could take the second step in 
his majestic progress toward the accomplishment of his great 
purpose. 

2. We are thus led to consider next the Mosaic dispensa- 
tion. During this period God moved forward toward the real- 
ization of his final purpose through a single nation. Instead 
of one family line, there are now many tribes and families 
elected for the carrying forward of God’s great design, all, 
however, belonging to a common stock, and descended from a 
common ancestor, Abraham. He was called out by God from 
his own kindred and people, and made the recipient of two 
great promises — one of a temporal nature, looking to the estab- 
lishment of a great nation through which God designed to work 
out and complete his great scheme of redemption, and one of a 


SiN AND ITS CURE. 


11 


spiritual nature, looking to the establishment of a great spir- 
itual kingdom, whose blessings were intended for all men, and 
to which the temporal kingdom that embraced the seed of 
Abraham stood in the relation of a means to an end. During 
this dispensation, salvation, although prospective rather than 
actual (which was also the case in the previous dispensation), 
came through the same three offices of prophet, priest, and 
king; but owing to the changed conditions, as well as for other 
reasons, the offices were clearly differentiated, and the duties 
of each vested in a distinct class. The changed conditions 
demanding the separating out of these offices were, — 

(1) The fuller revelation which was now needed, and which 
it was possible to give. 

(2) The more elaborate religious system made necessary, in 
part at least, by the demands of God’s unfolding plans for type 
and symbol; and, 

(3) The far more burdensome duties pertaining to the office 
of ruler, owing to the fact that his authority now extended over 
a great nation instead of over a family. During this dispensa- 
tion, the great key- word is prophecy — prophecy both in its 
broad sense as teaching, and in its narrower or predictive sense, 
including verbal utterance and type. 

This predictive prophecy constitutes much of the literature 
and more of the outward worship of the elect nation. During 
the greater part of this dispensation, God erected a line of 
finger-boards pointing forward to that for which all that went 
before in the Divine arrangements existed, and for which it was 
ordained and created. By this means a universal expectancy 
was created. A Messiah was the desire of the nations. 

3. We are thus led to the third, or Christian, dispensation, 
which is the final step in the accomplishment of God’s great 
plan of salvation. 

In this the Divine purpose of salvation is realized. Here 
we reach the climax of Divine wisdom, mercy, and love. No 


12 


THE GEE AT SALVATION. 


longer are the blessings of salvation prospective and circum- 
scribed to a few families or a single nation ; hence says the 
apostle, “The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath ap- 
peared to all men.” Here the blessing contemplated comes as 
before, through the three offices of prophet, priest, and king, 
but they are again centered in one person. Instead of several 
families, or a nation composed of many families, there is to be 
but one family, and Jesus is the head. This family potentially 
embraces the whole race, thus recognizing the universal 
brotherhood of man. Nor is this family relationship to be 
disturbed by the incident of death, and therefore the whole 
family in heaven and earth is named for Christ, who is the 
head. 

This climax of blessing secured through the three great 
offices of prophet, priest, and king, which are centered in 
Christ, contemplates the purifying of the human heart, the 
pardon of human guilt, the regulating of the outward life, the 
uniting of the broken connection between man and God, thus 
bringing about a new relationship, the marrying of the human 
and divine through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, a re- 
demption from the grave, and finally a home in the paradise 
of God. It is no wonder, therefore, that the inspired writer 
calls it a “great salvation.” 


CHAPTER II. 


THE SUPERIOR EXCELLENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN DISPENSATION ; 

HOW SHOWN AND HOW DESTROYED. 

Introduction: I. The dispensation of Christ is preeminently 
spiritual. Christ is a spiritual King, and citizenship in his king- 
dom is secured through spiritual birth, and maintained through 
spiritual union with the spiritual head. The Christian has the 
promise of the Holy Spirit as an abiding guest and comforter, 
which constitutes the crowning blessing of the new institution. 

2. In referring to this subject, the apostle has frequent use 
for the term “ glorious.” He calls the dispensation glorious ; 
the church, glorious ; its liberty, glorious ; its gospel, glorious, 
and its destiny is called glory. 

All this points to the immense superiority of the spiritual 
dispensation, and leads us naturally to consider, — 

I. The points wherein Christianity rises supremely above all 
other dispensations of Divine grace. 

I. This superiority is shown in the relation that Christianity 
sustains to the preceding dispensations. 

(i) These institutions must not be regarded in the light of 
successive experiments. 

God does not work tentatively. Empiricism has no place 
in the Divine economy. Such methods imply ignorance on 
the part of those who employ them. The Patriarchal Dis- 
pensation was not an experiment on the part of God, nor was 
the Mosaic. God knew just what could be accomplished by 
each before they were tried, and it is safe to say that each 


14 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


accomplished all that God intended or expected. The Patri- 
archal Dispensation passed away when it had fulfilled its 
purpose. The Mosaic Dispensation was introduced, not 
because the former had failed, but because a work had to be 
done which the former could not do. Another step in a majes- 
tic progress had to be taken. Owing to the changed 
conditions and the farther work needed, a new dispensation 
had to be inaugurated. This dispensation was in no sense a 
second trial on God’s part to save men. It was simply a 
second step in the working out of the great Divine plan. 
God understood the nature of Judaism, and he knew just what 
it could and would accomplish. It was perfect for its purpose, 
as was also the Patriarchal. 

(2) These dispensations may be regarded as both perfect 
and imperfect, and, in fact, they are so regarded in the Scrip- 
tures. 

They are perfect ; that is, each was perfectly adapted to its 
own place and its own work. They are not tentative efforts on 
God’s part, but absolute and positive steps, each perfect for its 
own work, and each strong in its work. 

They are also imperfect ; that is, they are not final. They 
can not accomplish God’s great and final purpose, the salvation 
of man, except as preparatory steps. They were limited and 
circumscribed in nature and design. Viewed as final systems, 
they were imperfect. So the Apostle Paul reasons, and he 
justifies the introduction of the new or Christian Dispensation 
on the ground of this imperfection. Illustrations of this truth 
are very abundant. The scaffolding of a building may be very 
perfect for its purpose, but it is not final. It would be a very 
imperfect house. A boy is very perfect if viewed as a boy, 
but very imperfect if viewed as a man. The blossom is very 
perfect if viewed as a blossom, but very imperfect if viewed as 
fruit. So the first two dispensations are very perfect, for their 
purpose, but imperfect as final systems of salvation. 


SUPERIOR EXCELLENCE . 


15 


(3) This brings us to see the superiority of the Christian , 
Dispensation. It is final. It is the realization of God’s great 
purpose. It is the building of which the former dispensations 
were but the scaffolding. It is the fruit of which the former 
were but the blossom. As the boy is prophetic of the man, 
the blossom of the fruit, so were the former dispensations pro- 
phetic of the final. 

(4) We should, however, be on our guard lest we fall into 
error just at this point. We must not suppose that the differ- 
ent dispensations are, after all, but one dispensation in its dif- 
ferent stages of development. These dispensations are related, 
but distinct. Each had its own promises, its own purposes, its 
own outward rites and ceremonies, and its own spirit. Each 
was a distinct and separate institution. True, they all have 
something in common. The great moral principles are neces- 
sarily the same in all, since these can never change, and they 
are bound together by one great final purpose that moves 
majestically forward to its accomplishment through these suc- 
cessive steps. The first two are circumscribed in the very 
necessity of the case. Their provisions, requirements and 
blessings are limited to a few families or a single nation, but the 
moment we reach the third, all restrictions fall off. The pro- 
visions, requirements and blessings are as broad as humanity. 
We seem to have passed out from under a narrow ceiling into 
the universe spanned by God’s great sky, and the most natural 
thing in the world is the music of the great Commission : 

‘ * Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. ” 

2. This superiority is shown by the perfection witnessed 
in this dispensation in the necessary and fundamental offices 
of Prophet, Priest, and King, as embodied in Christ. 

(1) God, through his prophets, had given his chosen peo- 
ple much great truth. He had taught many great and neces- 
sary lessons, but the revelation was by no means complete. 
All of God’s prophets shone by a borrowed light. The best 


16 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


was but a very imperfect embodiment of his own truth, and 
each was very limited in his message. The deepest questions 
of the soul still remained unanswered. As the seven element- 
ary colors that compose light unite in the focus or lens to 
form the perfect light, so Christ was the focus in which all 
the elements of truth unite to form the perfect light. He 
shone, not by a borrowed light, but was himself the source of 
the light. He was the Sun of Righteousness ; consequently 
he said, “lam the truth.” It is said that “his life was the 
light of men.” His truth was no better than his life, for both 
were perfect The latter was a complete outward manifestation 
of the former. There has been some discussion as to how far 
the Mosaic dispensation taught the doctrine of immortality. 
There can be no question of this kind raised in regard to 
Christianity. Jesus was most explicit and clear in his utter- 
ances on the subject, and he gave a practical demonstration 
by descending into hades and coming forth a triumphant con- 
queror, bringing life and immortality to light. 

(2) Under the first two dispensations, animal sacrifice con- 
stituted an important element in the worship. The high priest 
made an offering of blood, in the most holy place in the 
temple, for his own sin, and also for the sins of the people. 
This, however, was not final. No sins were actually taken 
away. There was a remembrance made again of sin every 
year. How imperfect, therefore, was all this. The high 
priest was imperfect, and, consequently, had to make an offer- 
ing for himself ; and his work was imperfect, since it could not 
take away sin. It merely pointed forward to a sacrifice that 
would be efficacious. Under the Christian Dispensation all is 
changed. Christ, our High Priest, is perfect. He needs not 
to offer a sacrifice for his own sin. His sacrifice is perfect. 
With his own blood he appeared in the presence of God to 
make an atonement once for all. Through this blood sins are 
actually taken away. They are remembered no more. 


SUPERIOR EXCELLENCE. 


17 


(3) The same perfection is seen in the kingly office. Under 
the old dispensation, kings were corrupt, ambitious, and selfish. 
Their rule was frequently unjust and tyrannical, and often they 
were impotent to protect their people. We, however, have a 
King who rules in justice, mercy, and love. His requirements 
are perfectly reasonable. He has all power. He has van- 
quished the great enemy of men, and is ever mighty to help 
and strong to deliver. Oftentimes kings have been far inferior 
to some of their subjects in wisdom and purity, but Jesus 
Christ, on the ground of inherent excellence, can claim the 
preeminence. Before him the wisest and purest may well 
cover their faces in shame. He is King, not only by reason of 
the authority vested in him, but by reason of his inherent 
dignity, majesty, and power. 

3. This superiority is shown by the perfection seen in the 
method of developing and regulating character and life. 

(1) There are two ways to regulate or govern human con- 
duct. One is by means of formulated rules and regulations, 
embodying positive commands and prohibitions that cover the 
whole circle of human activities. Human actions are hedged 
in on one side by positive, and on the other by negative, pre- 
cepts. By this means a certain line of conduct is secured, and 
life is determined in so far as it consists of external acts. 
There is, however, another way to govern life that secures 
much better results. Instead of written laws covering every 
action of life, great dominant principles are planted in the 
heart, out of which all actions spring. The individual does 
this or refrains from doing that not because he can find some 
precept, positive or negative, determining his action, but by 
reason of an inward governing principle. For instance, a man 
may be kept from killing and stealing by laws saying, “ Thou 
shalt not,” to which certain penalties are attached, or he may 
be restrained by the principles of love and honesty. That the 
latter is far superior to the former, no one will for a moment 


18 


THE GEE AT SAL VAT10N. 


question. He is not the highest type of man who does right 
things, or refrains from wrong things, simply because he can 
find a specific law governing the case. Law may be very 
necessary, but law of itself can not develop the highest 
character. The outward law is necessary until the inward 
principle has been planted within the heart. 

(2) Judaism was largely a system of law. It consisted of a 
multitude of rules and regulations pertaining to things great 
and small. There are laws embodying great moral principles, 
and laws pertaining to the minutest details of life. Social, 
civil, and religious duties are specified. It was preeminently 
a system of “Thou shalt ; ’ and “Thou shalt not.” By this 
it is not meant that the Mosaic economy exhausted itself 
in a code of rules and regulations for the children of Israel. 
Much of it was typical of the coming King and kingdom, and 
the worship consisted, not merely of external formalities, but 
had a deep spiritual significance. Still it remains true that 
its method of regulating human action was legalistic, and con- 
sequently imperfect. It was burdensome in the multitude of 
its details and specifications, and in the fact that all obedience 
in letter simply is a bondage. The Apostle Peter calls it “ A 
yoke which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear.” 
Its imperfection is also shown in the fact that it could not 
develop highest character as its natural fruit, consequently the 
writer of Hebrews declares, “The law made nothing perfect, 
but the bringing in of a better hope did, by which we drew 
nigh unto God.” 

(3) Christianity is a very different system. Here all action, 
to have any value, must spring from inner principles, or, as it 
is frequently expressed, from the heart. Christ showed that 
murder, adultery, and other immoralities consisted not alone 
in external acts, but in inward wicked desires. As wrong 
conduct results from a corrupt heart, so right conduct must 
have its fountain within ; consequently Paul says to the 


SUPERIOR EXCELLENCE . 


19 


Corinthians : “ Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of 
Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but by the spirit 
of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables 
of the heart.” When right conduct thus becomes the product 
of inward principles, all slavery or bondage disappears. We 
are made “free from the law,” because we are governed on 
the high ground of principle. Service becomes a pleasure 
whenever it becomes a service of love. He can not be a 
Christian in any high sense who requires a rule and a law for 
every act of Christian life. Those who demand it are living 
two thousand years too late. They belong to the Mosaic age, 
and, unfortunately, there are many such Christians in our day. 
These principles are illustrated in the way a wise father gov- 
erns his children of various ages. He puts the little child 
under law. He says, “Thou shalt ” and “ Thou shalt not,” 
and stops not to give reasons, because the child can not under- 
stand them. The child must learn to obey because it is com- 
manded, which is a great and necessary lesson. After the 
child is well grown, and has reached the point where he can 
reason, the father does not try to govern on mere authority, 
but assigns reasons for his commands. He probably gives but 
few commands, because he expects the child to do right on 
the high ground of principle. The laws of right and wrong 
are now supposed to have been written on the heart. The 
necessity for verbal commands or outward law disappears to the 
extent that this is true. The child is now free from the law, 
and yet he obeys it better than when he was under bondage of 
the law. So God has proceeded in the development of his 
great salvation. He put an infant nation, just emerging from 
a long period of bondage, under law. It was rigid and severe, 
but it was not a final system. It was only for a time. “ The 
law was added because of transgression until the seed 
[Christ] should come.” It was a restraining influence on the 
life of the elect nation until the fullness of time should come, 


20 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


when God would put, not only the elect nation, but all nations 
under a better teacher than Moses. Therefore, says Paul, 
“ The law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.” Under 
Christ we do right, not because it is written in ink or graven 
on stone, but because it is written on the heart. Herein lies 
one of the great points of superiority belonging to the Chris- 
tian religion. Under this system, the highest types of charac- 
ter are developed and the highest possibilities of the soul 
reached. This was God’s purpose from the beginning, toward 
which he majestically moved through the preparatory dispen- 
sations to its final consummation in Christ. 

We are led to consider, — 

II. The misrepresentation of the nature and work of the 
church, resulting from the misapplication of a beautiful and 
valuable aphorism : “ Where the Bible speaks, we speak ; and 
where the Bible is silent, we are silent.” 

i. As a people, the Disciples have laid great stress on the 
authority of God’s Word. They have been very particular 
about having “athussaith the Lord,” or “an apostolic pre- 
cedent ” for every item of doctrine or practice. This idea is 
forcibly embodied in the aphorism to which we have just 
alluded. In all this they are doubtless fundamentally right, 
and in harmony with the great theoretic principles of Protest- 
antism expressed by Chillingworth in the motto : “The Bible, 
the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible, as the religion of 
Protestants.” 

This aphorism, however, is capable of gross perversion, and 
that it has been perverted no one can doubt who is acquainted 
with the troubles that many churches of Disciples have had 
over organs, missionary societies, lesson leaves, and other 
similar questions ; nor have these troubles been peculiar to the 
Disciples. Some of the denominations have had serious 
difficulties over these and other questions of a kindred nature. 


SUPERIOR EXCELLENCE. 


21 


It has been customary to regard all such things as innovations 
that have come in to destroy the divinely established order 
of things, and to corrupt the purity and simplicity of the wor- 
ship. The claim is frequently made that those who oppose 
these things are moved by conscientious convictions, but 
that those who favor them do so merely on grounds of 
expediency. While I believe in the aphorism, when prop- 
erly understood and applied, yet I am thoroughly convinced 
that its rigid and indiscriminate application takes out of Chris- 
tianity one of its great distinguishing excellencies, by which it 
rises grandly superior to other systems, and utterly disqualifies 
it for the work which God has set it to accomplish. This beau- 
tiful system of Christianity, fragrant with Divine wisdom, and 
endowed with an element of elasticity, which enables it to 
adjust itself to ever-changing conditions, and thus move 
triumphantly onward everywhere, and in all ages, is, by the 
misapplication of this principle, shorn of its power. 

2. The field wherein this aphorism is applicable, is shown 
by an analysis of the problem that Christianity has to solve. 

(i) The religion of Christ has to meet and solve a double 
or two-sided problem. On the one hand, it has to deal with 
the question of depraved human nature, and the development 
of true Christian character, and at the same time it has to 
consider the question of fluctuating and ever-changing human 
conditions and circumstances, and adjust itself accordingly. 
Its great fundamental work lies on the side of human nature, 
which never changes when left to itself. Human nature, 
according to the testimony of the Bible and of human 
consciousness, is depraved. Man is corrupt in heart and life, 
and, consequently, alienated from God. The disease is 
radical, and God alone understands it, and can provide the 
cure. In Christianity we have God’s cure. In dealing with 
this unchanging problem, God has given us the unchanging 
remedies ; consequently, that side of Christianity that pertains 


22 


THE GREA T SAL VA T10N. 


to the changing of corrupt human nature, and the consequent 
relations to God based upon this change, is rigid and fixed. It 
changes not, because the problem with which it deals does not 
change. This side of Christianity has not changed from the 
beginning, and, in the nature of the case, can not change. 
God’s remedy for changing the corrupt human heart is faith 
in the Lord Jesus Christ. His means of changing the sinful 
human life is repentance. His appointment for changing the 
relationship of the alienated sinner is baptism. His means for 
securing the necessary growth in Christian character is proper 
food and exercise. These things can never change. God, 
understanding the disease in its nature and effects, has pre- 
scribed the remedy. 

(2) But Christianity, in accomplishing this work, comes in 
contact with ever-changing human conditions. These are 
never the same. They differ with every locality and almost 
with every day. It must be at once apparent that the side of 
Christianity that touches the side of human conditions and 
circumstances, is in no sense fixed. Here it must be perfectly 
elastic to enable it to adjust itself in its methods to the ever- 
changing conditions. Here God does not legislate, because 
it is impossible and unnecessary. Men are endowed with 
reason and common sense, and they are left free to adjust 
their methods to ever-changing conditions in harmony with 
the dictates of reason and common sense. They are expected 
to deal with the unchanging problem of human nature by 
God’s unchanging remedies, and to deal with the ever-changing 
problem of human conditions by ever-changing customs and 
methods, as the necessities of the case demand, and reason and 
common sense dictate. Hence, Paul could say, ‘‘I become 
all things to all men.” He evidently did not mean that he 
changed his principles to suit all men. He preached the same 
old gospel that was intended to deal with the same old human 
nature ; but so far as changing conditions, fashions and customs 


SUPERIOR EXCELLENCE. 


23 


were involved, matters in no way involving the human nature 
or human relationship side of the problem, he could change 
continually. To apply the beautiful and valuable aphorism of 
Thomas Campbell, “Where the Bible speaks, we speak; and 
where the Bible is silent, we are silent, ” to the human condi- 
tion side of the problem, is to reduce it to an absurdity. 
The moment this is done a principle is introduced that will 
lead to endless division and destroy the work of the church. 
God does not speak, and by positive law rigidly fix and deter- 
mine customs and methods that are the necessary outgrowth 
of changing conditions. To do so would be impossible ; but 
this does not mean that no one may speak. Here is just the 
field wherein man may speak. Here he may exercise the 
reason and common sense with which God has endowed him, 
and adjust customs and methods to the changing conditions, 
and resort to expedients that circumstances call for. On the 
unchanging human nature side of the problem, man may speak 
when God speaks, provided he reiterate what God says ; and 
when God is silent, he must be silent, because in this field he 
is incompetent to speak. On the changing human condition 
side of the problem, God does not speak, because it is unnec- 
essary. Here man may speak, because he is competent in this 
field. God does not dishonor the reason and common sense 
with which he has endowed man, by speaking in matters that 
are necessarily determined by changing conditions, and which 
man is supposed to have sense enough to see and understand. 

3. The utter impossibility of applying this aphorism in the 
field of human conditions, as shown by a few specific examples. 

(1) Such an application would take away from us our New 
Testament as a sacred volume for the use of God’s people. 
There is no “Thus saith the Lord” for creating a single 
volume by collecting together the apostolic writings, for the 
most part primarily addressed to individuals and particular 
churches, and placing it in the hands of God’s people as an 


24 


THE GREAT SAL VAT/OH, 


authoritative volume. The first Christians had no such vol- 
ume, and I know of no specific command for creating it. 
In its present form it is the outgrowth of human conditions. 
The various books were written by inspired men for various 
purposes, some to individuals, and some to churches, and 
some to Christians scattered abroad. So long as the churches 
received the immediate instruction of inspired men, they did 
not feel the pressing need of having their writings gathered 
together for general circulation, nor did the apostles them- 
selves need such a volume. They were eye-witnesses of the 
facts connected with the life of Christ, and having received his 
personal instructions, and being inspired and specially endowed 
for their work, they did not need the written histories concern- 
ing him. The time came, however, when all these conditions 
changed. Men had to preach who had never seen Christ, and 
who had to learn the facts concerning him from some source. 
This demanded written records, and God had prepared them. 
Churches no longer had the personal ministry of inspired men, 
and hence they felt the need of the written inspired instruc- 
tions. The changed conditions demanded that the inspired 
records be collected, in order that these various wants might 
be supplied, and common sense did it without a “Thus sait’h 
the Lord. ” God caused the inspired histories and teachings 
to be placed in the hands of individuals and churches. Con- 
ditions finally caused them to be collected and arranged in a 
volume for general use. 

(2) The application of this principle on the side of human 
conditions, would destroy every house of worship. The 
separate house for purposes of instruction and worship is 
perhaps the lineal descendant of the Jewish synagogue, which 
probably originated with Ezra, and was itself an outgrowth of 
conditions. In the history of Christianity, the church building 
appeared in answer to the demands of human conditions. In 
the beginning there were no houses of worship, and, so far as 


SUPERIOR EXCELLENCE. 


25 


we know, there was no command to erect such buildings, 
f he first Christians in Jerusalem met from house to house. 
The apostles preached in private houses, in synagogues, in the 
open air, or wherever opportunity offered. It was all deter- 
mined by the conditions. Doubtless the building of churches 
was first determined by conditions. When the disciples 
became too numerous, in a given place, to meet in some 
private house, churches were built. Conditions demanded 
them, and common sense provided them. No ‘‘Thus saith 
the Lord ” was required, and none was given. The appoint- 
ments of the house were also determined by condition, in some 
measure. Owing to the warm climate, fires were not needed 
in the houses in Palestine, and, therefore, no provision was 
made for warming the churches. When Christianity traveled 
into the northern latitudes, the churches were built after the 
early models, and, consequently, there was no provision for 
warming. There was neither precept nor precedent for fire, 
and fire was omitted ; and when, in answer to the demands 
of human conditions, fire was finally introduced, it resulted in 
splitting and destroying churches. Men demanded a “Thus 
saith the Lord,” or an approved precedent, and on this rock 
the church was wrecked. Who were to blame for this lament- 
able result ? Certainly those who so grossly misunderstood the 
relation of Christ as to demand a “ Thus saith the Lord ” for 
things that are the necessary outgrowth of human conditions. 

(3) Such application of the principle would cast aside 
every hymn-book. There is no “Thus saith the Lord” fora 
book composed of uninspired poetry set to uninspired music. 
While it is certainly true that Christians can worship God by 
singing from the hymn-book, there is no express command for 
any such thing. The hymn-book is the outgrowth of human 
conditions. Changed conditions and customs made it necessary 
and possible, and common sense adopted it. True, Christians 
have the injunction to worship by singing “psalms and hymns 


26 


7 HE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


and spiritual songs,” but this injunction was not obeyed by 
using anything resembling a modern hymn-book. Persons can 
even now obey the injunction without any hymn-book, as I 
have known preachers to line songs from memory and lead the 
congregation in singing when conditions made it necessary. 
The composing of songs for Christian worship has no Script- 
ural authority. It is the outgrowth of conditions. 

(4) If I mistake not, the organ question belongs just here. 
It is the outgrowth of human conditions. Changed conditions 
brought it in, and it can be gotten out by reducing conditions 
to what they were before it came. Whenever conditions 
demand it, or make it possible, it is manifestly right to intro- 
duce it. This is a matter to be determined by reason and 
sound common sense. It is clearly wrong to force an organ 
into a church in opposition to conditions and circumstances. 
It is certainly wrong to keep it out when conditions demand it. 
If conditions make it necessary or desirable, put it in for con- 
science sake. If conditions make it undesirable or improper, 
keep it out for conscience sake. 

(5) The question concerning missionary societies can be 
settled in the same way. The commission says : “Go into all 
the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Condi- 
tions will determine how to carry this out. If a man can not 
go, let him send some one, or if he can not do this alone, let 
him associate with himself a hundred, or a thousand, or ten 
thousand others ; but this will, perhaps, necessitate some 
system for collecting the money and disbursing it, if many are 
sent. Here is a missionary society. Human conditions deter- 
mine it, and common sense provides it. A missionary society 
is simply the church doing the work laid upon it by adopting 
methods suited to existing conditions. 

(6) In the same way the questions of Lord’s day schools, 
lesson leaves, and young people’s societies are determined. 
All are the outgrowth of human conditions. On the side that 


SUPERIOR EXCELLENCE. 


27 


pertains to changing human nature and affecting the relation- 
ship to God, everything is fixed, because it must be so ; but 
God does not insult our intelligence by legislating on the side of 
human conditions ; besides, to do so would be manifestly impos- 
sible. The instructions would have to be infinite in number 
and variety to meet the multiform and ever-changing conditions. 

4. The attempt to apply this principle to matters growing 
out of human conditions, has led to endless confusion and 
puerile nonsense in the name of religion. One man is worried 
about the position in prayer, desiring the matter to be deter- 
mined by apostolic precedent or a “Thus saith the Lord. ” 
Another thinks the Lord’s Supper ought to be celebrated in 
an upper room. Another, having become accustomed to 
hearing the preacher line out one line of the song at a time, 
has imbibed the idea that there is something apostolic about 
it, and demands a “Thus saith the Lord,” when another lines 
out two lines, whereupon the church splits into the “one- 
liners” and the “two-liners.” Another, never having heard 
but one part in the music sung, demands a “Thus saith the 
Lord ” when bass and tenor are introduced. I have known 
good brethren to raise the question as to whether it was right 
to sing bass. Another, on the ground of apostolic example, 
demands that after communion a song shall be sung, after 
which the congregation shall disperse without a benediction. 
If this is Christianity, it is more legalistic in spirit than Juda- 
ism of the most approved Pharisaical sort. Instead of being 
made free from the law in Christ, we are put under a worse 
bondage than Judaism ever inflicted. To certain Christians 
who were clinging to the observance of the Jewish law, or 
were in danger of being led away from the gospel to Judaism, 
Paul said : “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath 
made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of 
bondage.” Let us heed the injunction, lest we become en- 
tangled with a more galling yoke. 


28 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


Would it not be a pitiable sight to see the church of the 
living God, which is the bride, the Lamb’s wife, and dearer to 
him than the apple of his eye, shorn of its power and beauty 
by having injected into it a legalistic spirit utterly foreign to 
its nature and purpose? Let us resist all such attempts, and 
guard ourselves against all such tendencies, not simply on the 
ground of expediency, but on the higher ground of con- 
science, that the church may stand before the world in all of 
its matchless perfection, “Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, 
and terrible as an army with banners. ” 


CHAPTER III. 


THE FULLNESS OF TIME. 

The Question Stated : Why was Christ’s coming so long 
delayed ? Why was not the kingdom of God set up in the 
days of Adam ? Why allow thousands of years to roll by 
while the world groaned under its awful burden of sin, before 
offering to man the perfect remedy ? 

These questions have been propounded by both believers 
and unbelievers in all ages, and surely they are worthy of a 
candid answer. 

Introduction : I. The divine methods of working are always 
marked by certain peculiar and striking characteristics. 

(i) God always works toward definite and well-understood 
ends. He knows the end, even from the beginning, and 
he is never disappointed nor surprised. Every step is a 
necessary one. There may appear to be counter-currents and 
retrograde movements in human history, but this is doubtless 
owing to our limited vision, which often results from our too 
close proximity to the events. Some particular nation at some 
particular time may appear to be moving backward, but a 
more comprehensive view may show that it is making sub- 
stantial progress. Especially does a large view of the history 
of the race exhibit this mighty onward and upward move- 
ment. A person standing on the bank of a river by an eddy 
might conclude that the water had turned backward, but 
a glance at the broader expanse will show the majestic 
onward sweep of the mighty current. We should not, there- 
fore, judge God's work by little sections. We may be 


30 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


looking at some little eddy. Take in the great com- 
prehensive sweep of events, and we shall see a substantial 
progress. 

(2) God never seems to be in undue haste. His progress 
is majestic, and to us it sometimes seems slow. He took mil- 
lions of years to fashion and prepare a globe for man’s habita- 
tion ; he takes a century to make a great oak ; he takes thirty 
or forty years to make a man who is to live on earth but 
threescore years and ten. In the working out of great princi- 
ples he sometimes occupies millenniums. 

There are discoverable reasons for this. First, God does 
not need to be in a hurry. He has abundance of time at his 
disposal. We poor mortals must be in a hurry. We have 
only a few years to stay here. What we do we must do 
quickly. Not so with God. He is not limited to a little circle 
of years, but the eternities are his. Second, he moves in 
harmony with man’s intellectual and spiritual constitution. 
Man can not be moved upon by an immediate and overpower- 
ing impulse. Such a method would outrage or destroy 
judgment, reason, and freedom. Man moves as he is moved 
upon through his mental powers and capacities. He must be 
enlightened and persuaded. Many lessons can only be learned 
by experience. All this involves, in a large degree, the 
element of time. An individual may learn a lesson in a day 
that will require a decade or a century for a nation to learn ; 
and one nation may learn a lesson in a generation that will 
require millenniums for the race to learn. The factor of time 
necessarily enters into the evolution of great systems of truth. 

2. These considerations prepare us for the statement that 
the time of Christ’s appearing was not arbitrarily selected. 
His coming was not an accident, nor was it chosen at random. 
Christ said : “ The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is 
at hand ” (Mark i. 15). Paul declared : “ When the fullness 
of time was come, God sent forth his Son ” (Gal. iv. 4). 


THE FULLNESS OF TIME, 


31 


The world was ripe for Christ’s appearance. Conditions 
were matured through a process of development extending 
through millenniums. The foundations of Christianity were 
laid broad and deep, and the perfect system was reached by a 
gradually unfolding process. The world was made ready for 
the coming kingdom by a system of agencies, extending 
through long ages, and when this preparation was complete, 
the fullness of time had come. 

(3) The gradual preparation must needs have been three- 
fold. It was necessary that there be lines of spiritual, intel- 
lectual and political (involving physical) preparation. (See 
“New Era,” pages 41-53.) God accomplished these results 
chiefly through the instrumentality of three great nations — the 
Hebrew, Greek, and Roman. Each had its own peculiar and 
distinct work. Each wrought out certain great historic lines 
of events that enter into the general preparation. These lines 
converge to a single point, which is the focus of all history. 
At this focal point stands the cross of Christ. All historic 
lines converge to this, and diverge from this point. Christ is, 
therefore, the center of all historic movement. 

We will briefly note the converging lines that meet at the 
cross of Christ, and that serve to make it the most conspicuous 
object in all human history. 

I. The Hebrew nation had accomplished a great work in 
general preparation. 

1. It had stood as a bulwark against the encroachments 
of idolatry, which was the greatest moral pestilence of the 
race. 

(1) Idolatry had made its appearance everywhere. It was 
God’s purpose to destroy it. This was absolutely essential to 
the highest good of man. Idolatry always and everywhere 
degrades. Under its influence man has ever tended downward. 
He can never reach his highest possibilities until its roots are 


32 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


eradicated. Christianity is the farthest possible remove from 
it. God proposes to make idolatry impossible by planting in 
the heart of man a seed that shall produce a tree occupying 
the entire space from which the whole fruitage of life shall be 
gathered. This seed is simply supreme love to the one true 
and living God. Christianity, as a system, is intended to 
plant this seed in a soul and cultivate the heavenly tree, 
causing it to yield its divine fruitage. 

(2) The securing of this result explains God’s purpose in 
much of the history prior to Christ. He sought to eradicate 
the roots of idolatry from a nation. This was a slow and 
severe process. It required precept and punishment. Only 
the most radical measures were sufficient to accomplish the 
result. Also, the nation was sometimes used as an executioner 
upon other incorrigible idolatrous nations. By these various 
processes a people was finally developed who were free from 
idolatry. 

Thus the preparation that was needed for the spiritual 
religion was secured. There was formed a nucleus of pre- 
pared persons. “ Standing ground was prepared for the her- 
alds of Christianity.” 

2. The Messianic idea had been kept alive and developed 
by means of prophetic utterances, although it was grossly 
misunderstood. The eyes of the nation were looking with 
expectancy to the promised One. This desire and expectancy 
having increased as the time advanced, were very intense when 
Christ appeared. 

3. The conception of the one eternal, self-existent, holy, 
and perfect God had been developed. It required many and 
diverse lessons, and a long period of time, to develop this idea, 
but it was finally accomplished, and it constitutes to-day one 
of the richest inheritances that the past has contributed to the 
world. It is the bed-rock on which our blessings, as individ- 
uals, communities, and nations, rest. 


THE FULL HESS OF TIME. 


33 


4. A solid foundation for the claims of Christ had been 
laid. 

(1) Complete series of types, natural and artificial, had 
been produced. Jewish ceremonialism is meaningless when 
separated from Christ. The worship was pictorial and proph- 
etic. Types were the shadows of things to come, and they 
served not only to foretell the events, but to identify them 
when they appeared. 

(2) A complete line of verbal prophecies had been deliv- 
ered. The importance of this can not be overestimated. The 
minutest details concerning Christ had been prophetically 
declared, and by this means a line of evidence had been pre- 
pared of the strongest character. We can not eliminate this 
element. It was magnified by Christ and his apostles. 
Nearly every apostolic sermon was based on prophecy. If we 
may judge from apostolic preaching, we must conclude that 
modern preaching does not sufficiently magnify the line of 
evidence furnished in the Old Testament prophecies. New 
Testament preaching is a constant and continuous appeal to 
prophecy. 

(3) The genealogical tables preserved in the nation trace 
the lineage of Christ back through David to Abraham, thus 
showing him to be the promised seed through whom the bless- 
ing intended for all nations was to come. 

5. The inefficiency of both moral and ceremonial law as a 
remedial system, had been demonstrated. The prevailing 
notion with men has ever been to regulate human conduct by 
law. All civil government is based upon this idea. The 
method contemplates hedging in human conduct by laws to 
which penalties are attached that right conduct may thus be 
secured. Nothing more radical than this ever enters the mind 
of the average legislator. This is, doubtless, a necessary pro- 
cess during a certain stage of human development, but it is 
not a perfect system, and, consequently, can never be a final 


34 


THE GREAT SAL VAT ION 


system. It can never achieve the highest and best results. 
This truth was brought out in the previous chapter. It was 
necessary, however, to demonstrate this fact before a better 
system could be introduced. God must show the impossibil- 
ity of salvation by law before man would accept salvation on 
any other terms. Accordingly, God put a chosen nation 
under a most marvelous code of laws, manifesting such wis- 
dom and perfection that it has been made the model among 
the most civilized nations of modern times. 

Coupled with this was a most wonderful ritualism. Forms 
and ceremonies of exceeding beauty and suggestiveness were 
divinely appointed for the chosen nation. By this means two 
important ends were secured. First, the nation was kept tem- 
porarily under a restraining influence, and thus its evil pro- 
pensities were, in some degree, restrained. Second, the great 
and all-important truth was demonstrated that perfect man- 
hood could not be secured, either by legal enactment or cere- 
monial observances. Notwithstanding the marvelous system 
of law given to it, the chosen nation sank deeper and deeper 
into degradation. Sin everywhere made' its appearance. In 
the words of the inspired writer : ‘ ‘ There was none righteous, 
no not one. ” 

6. The Jewish nation had served a great missionary pur- 
pose. 

(i) By its location it was admirably situated for the 
accomplishment of that great end. It was an isolated nation, 
and at the same time it was so situated as to be brought 
into frequent contact with the great nations by which it 
was surrounded. This statement seems paradoxical, and yet a 
moment’s reflection will show it to be true. On the west was the 
ocean ; on the north and northeast, a rough, mountainous coun- 
try, impassable for large armies ; on the southeast, a great desert 
served to cut the nation off from contact with the great nations 
of the valleys of the Euphrates and Tigris. Intercourse with 


THE FULLNESS OF TIME. 


35 


Egypt on the south was difficult, owing to the desert nature of 
the country. In its every-day life the nation was, conse- 
quently, separated from other nations, and this isolation 
afforded the best possible protection against the contaminating 
influences of surrounding idolatrous and corrupt peoples while 
God was carrying forward his great line of preparation within 
the nation for the coming kingdom of grace and glory. Yet, 
strange as it may seem, there could not have been another spot 
chosen from which the peculiar truths of the nation could be so 
readily and universally disseminated. It was at the focal point 
where all the lines of communication between the great nations 
crossed. Fertile Egypt was the great bread-house of the world. 
It offered a constant temptation to invasion from the east, and 
Palestine must necessarily be crossed by the invading armies. 
Even the commerce of peace must make Palestine its thor- 
oughfare. Furthermore, Palestine was the great highway of 
inter-communication, both in peace and war, between the 
mighty nations of the east and west. Persian hosts, Grecian 
phalanxes and Roman legions have in turn trampled its soil 
beneath their feet. The plain of Esdraelon in Western Pales- 
tine, both in ancient and more modern times, has literally been 
the battlefield of nations. That little spot of a few miles in 
circumference has seen more bloodshed than any other spot on 
earth. Palestine, therefore, was the highway for campaigns 
and counter-campaigns, and for the interchange of commerce 
between the east, west, and south. There could be but one 
result from all this. 

The idea of one true and living God and of a coming 
Messiah as the Saviour of all men, which God had given to 
this unique nation, must, necessarily, become widely scattered 
God picked out the one spot on the earth where these ideas 
could be sacredly guarded and, at the same time, widely dis- 
seminated among all nations. This fact stands as a strong 
argument in favor of the divine origin of Christianity. The 


36 


7 HE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


Jews were not a missionary people. On the contrary, they 
were clannish and exclusive, but God so located them that 
they could not monopolize the great truths that he had 
committed to their keeping. 

(2) Even the great calamities that finally came upon the 
nation, were overruled by God for the furthering of his world- 
wide system of grace and truth. By successive deportations, 
the Jews were scattered among the nations of the East, until 
the whole nation was finally led away in the great Babylonish 
captivity. However, amidst their awful calamities and adver- 
sities, they held on to their peculiar God-given truths with 
wonderful tenacity, and doubtless, to some extent, impressed 
these ideas upon their captors. In this way, a great missionary 
work was done. 

(3) After the captivity, the Jews manifested far less exclu- 
siveness. They wandered throughout the civilized world, and 
settled in large numbers in all the great commercial centers, 
where they built synagogues for religious purposes, in which the 
Jewish Scriptures were read and expounded, and by this means 
their religious thought was widely scattered. However, they 
never lost their nationality. They still regarded Jerusalem as 
the religious center, to which they made frequent pilgrimages. 
In this way, national unity was preserved, and religious fervor 
kept alive. 

In these ways, Judaism as a system, gradually permeated 
the nations, and the effect is easily discoverable. It was far 
superior to idolatry, and when brought in contact with it in a 
way that comparison could be made, it necessarily rose grandly 
above it. Intelligent men could not fail to note its preemi- 
nence, and thus faith in the ancient idolatrous systems was grad- 
ually weakened, until at the time of Christ's advent the relig- 
ious systems of Greece and Rome were crumbling to decay. 
The life had already departed from these religions, and nothing 
but a decaying carcass was left. The knowledge of the Jewish 


THE FULLNESS OF TIME. 


37 


Scriptures, so widely diffused, had taken a strong hold upon 
the people, and was exercising such a marked influence that 
Seneca complained that the “ conquered had given laws to 
their conquerors. ” History tells us that the disposition toward 
Judaism was very strong in some of the great capitals of the 
Roman empire. 

II. The Greek nation contributed an important part to the 
general preparation for the establishment of a world-embracing 
Messianic kingdom. 

i. The Greek language was of peculiar value in the found- 
ing of Christ’s Church. In order that the gospel might be 
readily disseminated, a language must be developed suited to 
the general purpose of promulgation. It must be a language 
widely understood and capable of expressing thought in 
a popular, and, at the same time, a forcible and accurate 
way. 

(i) The classic Hebrew language had served a grand pur- 
pose as a treasure-house for the reception of great, Divine truth, 
but it was utterly unsuited to the general purposes of promul- 
gation. It was understood by a very limited number, and by 
its very nature it could never become a universal tongue. It 
was restricted to a few. It was too rigid and cumbersome, too 
stately and majestic, to ever become a popular tongue. True, 
it had wonderful poetic and oratorical elements, but it lacked 
the flexible mercurial quality necessary to make it the language 
of the masses. Even the Aramaic dialect, a corrupted form 
of the Hebrew, which gradually superseded the classic Hebrew 
after the Babylonian captivity, was wanting in the elements 
necessary to make it a popular tongue, and, besides, it be- 
longed to a weak and subjugated people, who, even in the 
golden age of their national life, had exercised but little influ- 
ence on the political life of the nations. Such a people might 
disseminate their ideas widely, but they could not, in the very 


38 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


nature of the case, transmit their language to the powerful 
surrounding nations, even if it had possessed the popular ele- 
ments. 

(2) The old classic Greek, the most perfect language the 
world has ever seen, could never become the medium of gen- 
eral communication. Its very perfection unsuited it for popu- 
lar use. It was the language of the cultivated, educated 
classes, but not the language of the common people. It was 
capable of expressing nicest shades of thought, and, like the 
Hebrew, it was well adapted to poetry, and especially to ora- 
tory of a certain finished and polished type. It was a lan- 
guage of philosophers and scholars, but its clothing was too 
fine for the rough-and-tumble use of every-day life. 

(3) The classic Latin was a wonderful language, but it also 
lacked the popular elements. It was far too intricate and com- 
plicated ever to become a general medium of communication. 
As the classic Greek was the language of philosophy, so the 
Latin was the language of jurisprudence. Both were class 
languages, instead of universal tongues. 

(4) In the providence of God, however, a language was 
being prepared that was calculated to displace all other tongues 
as the language of intercommunication. It was a Greek 
tongue, but it was not the classic Greek. In the armies of 
Alexander, the Greek peoples of the different Grecian states 
that had for centuries been kept separate and distinct, owing 
largely to the geographical characteristics of their country, 
and had, consequently, developed different dialects of the 
common parent speech, were brought into contact with each 
other as never before, and, consequently, there was a blending 
together of the various Grecian dialects into a common tongue 
( Koince dialeotos). This language had in it the elements of 
popularity. It was the language of the masses. It was 
spoken, not by a politically weak and conquered people, but 
by a nation that for a long period was dominant in the affairs 


THE FULLNESS OF TIME . 


39 


of the world. Grecian power and influence gave it a very- 
wide constituency, but by its own intrinsic qualities, it con- 
tinued to extend its dominion as a language long after Greece 
surrendered her political supremacy to the mighty power that 
had arisen on the banks of the Tiber, until at last it became 
the language of the civilized world. It retained many of the 
qualities of the ancient classic tongue, but it was far less 
finished and polished, and, for this reason, better adapted to 
common use. This common or Hellenistic tongue, as it is 
called, abounds in Hebrew and Aramaic idioms, and not a few 
words have crept into it from these and other sources. Jose- 
phus and Philo used this language in writing their histories, 
and it was adopted by the apostles of Christ and the early 
Christian writers generally. Owing to the prevalence of this 
language, the apostles could go everywhere with their message 
and be understood. Even the Hebrew Scriptures were trans- 
lated into this tongue about 280 B. C. This translation, called 
the Septuagint, was widely scattered throughout the Roman 
Empire, and was read by both Jews and Gentiles. Conse- 
quently, a knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures had 
preceded the apostles as they went out on their world-wide 
mission, and it served as a marvelous preparation for their 
gospel message. It is very interesting and important to note 
that this wonderful tongue, which had conquered the world, 
first through the assistance of Grecian armies, and afterwards 
by means of a widespread system of Greek colonization, sud- 
denly became a dead language a short time after, it received 
into its keeping the richest treasure it had ever held, the New 
Testament Scriptures. 

One can scarcely avoid the conclusion that God prepared 
this wonderful tongue as the receptacle for his final and 
complete revelation of truth, and through which it could 
be and was given to all the nations, and then sealed it up 
in the form in which it was first given as a treasure to be 


40 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


kept and handed forward as an inheritance for all men and for 
all time. 

I here introduce two forcible and pointed quotations, bearing 
directly on this point. The historian Kurtz says : 

Thus, gradually, the Greek language which, when the gospel was first 
preached, was understood and spoken throughout the Roman Empire, obtained 
universal dominion, as it were, a temporary suspension of the judgment by which 
languages were confounded. So that the writings of the Apostles, whether addressed 
to Roman, Grecian, or Asiatic Christians, might all be in Greek, and even the Epistle 
to the Hebrews scattered abroad was probably written, not in their own language, 
but in this perfected and cosmopolitan tongue. 

Dr. Schaff, in “Apostolic Church,” pages 144, 145, says: 

The language of Hellas is the most beautiful, rich and harmonious ever 
spoken or written, and Christianity has conferred the highest honor on it by making 
it the organ of her sacred truths. We may say it was predestined to form the 
pictures of silver in which the golden apple of the gospel should be preserved for 
all generations. To this end Providence so ordered, that by the conquests of Alex- 
ander the Great, and the planting of Greek colonies in the East, as also by reason 
of the copiousness and intrinsic value of the Greek literature, and its influence 
upon the Roman mind, this language had, before the birth of Christ, become the 
language of the whole civilized world. Through it the apostles could make them- 
selves understood in any city of the Roman empire. In addition to this, the 
Creator had endowed the Greeks with the beautiful soul, a beautiful body; to 
provide for thought, the clearest, most suitable, and most natural expression ; in 
short, to develop the idea of beauty. 

2. The Grecian philosophers assisted very largely in the 
general preparation. With prophetic acumen that is strongly 
suggestive of a Divine inspiration, they pointed forward to the 
advent of a great teacher. Socrates confessed his own ina- 
bility to utter the necessary truths, and declared that some one 
must come from heaven to instruct us. 

The influence of Platonism is forcibly set forth by Dr. 
Schaff: 

Of all systems of Greek philosophy, the one which undoubtedly exerted the 
most powerful and beneficial influence on the religious life of the heathen, and 
was preeminently fitted to be a scientific schoolmaster to bring them to Christ, was 


THE FULLNESS GF TIME. 


41 


Platonism. All the other systems were mostly negative, and tended to undermine 
the heathen superstition, and thereby to overthrow idolatry without substituting 
anything better in its place. But Platonism may be regarded as, in many respects, 
a direct guide to the gospel. It carries us back to Socrates (399 B. C.), the 
greatest and most remarkable moral personage of heathendom. In one view, this 
philosopher exhibits the perfection of a Giecian sage; in another, he towers far 
above his nation and age, as the prophet of a glorious future (“ Apostolic Church,” 
page 150). 

Any one who reads Socrates on the immortality of the soul 
can not fail to see that such doctrine must have been a won- 
derful preparation for the teaching of Christ concerning the 
future life. In fact, the positive declarations of the Divine 
Teacher are the direct answers to the longings expressed by 
the Grecian philosophers. But, notwithstanding this direct 
work of preparation accomplished by Grecian philosophy, 
there was an indirect work no less important. As Israel has 
demonstrated that even Divine law, coupled with most elaborate 
ceremonials, was not, and could not be, a saviour, so Greece, 
by her experience, taught the lesson that man could not be 
saved by secular culture. No nation ever climbed to grander 
intellectual heights than did Greece. All that literature, in its 
highest forms, and art, in its most perfect manifestations, could 
do for a people, was done for the Greeks. The aesthetic 
nature of the Greek was cultivated to the highest point. 
Greece has furnished the models of both physical and intel- 
lectual beauty, and yet, with all their brilliant refinement, the 
nation sank continually lower in moral degradation. While we 
are dazzled with the intellectual aspect of Greek life, yet 
we have but to look at the moral side to be sickened with 
disgust. This negative lesson, taught so forcibly in the 
history of Greece, mankind has been very slow to learn, 
and even now there are not a few who put their hopes in 
culture as a saviour of man, but it is all an empty dream, 
and it is discredited by the sad experience of ancient 
Greece. 


42 


THE GREA T SAL VA T10N. 


III. The Roman nation was a mighty factor in the general 
preparation for Christ. 

1. Those who study the philosophy of history, readily 
discover that power was the great characteristic thought of the 
Roman people. Virgil embodies the thought in the following 
eloquent words : 

Others will beat out the brass into the living image more delicately, I indeed 
believe. They will bring out the living faces from the marble, they will plead 
causes better, they will mark out the courses of the heavens with a rod, and they 
will describe the rising stars. Remember that it is yours, O Roman ! to rule the 
people with authority. These will be your arts to impose conditions of peace, to 
spare the conquered, and to subdue the haughty (Virgil’s ^Eneid, Book VI., Verses 
847 - 853 )- 

This characteristic idea of power manifests itself in a 
genius for law or jurisprudence, doubtless because this is 
the best expression of power. Rome, by the power of 
her armies, tamed the conflicting and heterogeneous popula- 
tion of the world, and then, by her marvelous system of 
law, she ruled the subjugated nations, and, as Virgil says, 
“ Imposed the conditions of the world’s peace.” 

2. It is very easy to see what a mighty work of prepara- 
tion Rome accomplished for Christianity. Universal empire 
brought about most favorable conditions for the introduction of 
a cosmopolitan religion. 

(1) Universal peace was secured. Instead of scores of petty 
kingdoms and principalities, separated by jealousies and arrayed 
against each other by the vaulting ambition of wicked, selfish 
and unscrupulous leaders, Rome threw her giant arms around 
all and united them under a common head, thus making it 
possible for the heralds of the cross to go everywhere preach- 
ing the Word under the protection of Roman law. This 
universal peace began a short time before Christ appeared, and 
continued until the gospel had been securely planted. During 
this time the temple of Janus at Rome was closed for the second 


THE FULLNESS OF TIME. 


43 


time in Roman history. Milton celebrates this peace in the 
following beautiful measures : 

No war nor battle sound 
Was heard the world around. 

The idle spear and shield were high up-hung. 

The hooked chariot stood 
Unstained with hostile blood, 

The trumpet spake not to the armed throng, 

And kings sat still with awful eye, 

As if they surely knew their sovereign Lord was by. 

This peace was absolutely essential to the success of the 
Apostles’ work. The attention of men to religious things can 
not be secured in time of war. The bloodshed, the excite- 
ment, the danger, distract the minds of men ; and the evil pro- 
pensities of the human heart seem to run riot. Had the 
Apostles been sent out a century earlier, or a century later, 
their mission would probably have ended in failure ; but dur- 
ing this time of peace, the kingdom of God took root so firmly 
that it could not be overthrown. Now let war and commotion 
come ; let men give reign to their wicked, ambitious propensi- 
ties ; let murder and rapine run riot, but the kingdom of God 
will grow until at last another universal peace shall be secured 
— a peace that depends not on force of arms or the outward 
reign of law, but upon the dominion of inward principles of 
justice and love. Then, “men will beat their swords into 
plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, and the nations 
shall learn war no more.” 

(2) A system of highways was constructed that greatly 
facilitated travel, and brought the great centers of population, 
as well as the remote regions, into comparatively easy inter- 
course. These Roman roads offered ready facilities for trans- 
porting armies, and they became great arteries of trade, serving 
in this twofold way to unify the empire and make it far more 
homogeneous than it otherwise could have been. Gibbon, the 
historian, bears the following pointed testimony: 4 ‘All the 


44 


THE GREA T SAL VA TJOA. 


cities of the Roman Empire were connected with each other, 
and with the capital, by public highways, which, issuing from 
the forum of Rome, traversed Italy, pervaded the provinces, 
and were terminated only by the frontiers of the empire. ” 

The great advantage of this to Christianity is very appa- 
rent. Safe and speedy travel was made possible, which, to a 
missionary religion, propagated by purely peaceful means, is a 
highly essential condition of success. Gibbon also says : 

The public highways which had been constructed for the use of the legions, 
opened an easy passage for the Christian missionaries from Damascus to Corinth, 
and from Italy to the extremity of Spain or Britain, nor did these spiritual con- 
querors encounter any of the obstacles which usually retard or prevent the intro- 
duction of a foreign religion into a distant country. 

The advantages accruing to the messengers of the gospel 
from Roman supremacy, which have been pointed out by 
Gibbon, Professor Schaff, and others, may be partially sum- 
marized as follows: (i) Free access to all nations ; (2) Easy 
and speedy communication ; (3) Protection of Roman law ; 
(4) General political peace and quiet. In short, it furnished 
the needed political and material preparation for the gospel 
of Christ. 

In addition to the religious, intellectual, and political 
preparation furnished respectively by the Jewish, Grecian, and 
Roman nations, there was a general preparation seen among 
other nations. 

1. A widespread expectancy of a great coming One 
existed. 

(1) The Jews were looking for their Messiah for long cen- 
turies before Christ appeared, and at the time of his coming 
the expectation was not only widespread in the nation, but 
very intense. It was generally felt that the time was at hand. 
This, of course, is easily accounted for, since the Jewish Scrip- 
tures abound in most positive and specific Messianic proph- 
ecies. 


THE FULLNESS OF TIME . 


46 


(2) Confucius, the great Chinese philosopher, six hundred 
years before the coming of Christ, pointed his disciples to a 
great and holy One who would appear in the west (Prof. 
Schafif, in “ Apostolic Church,” pp. 183, 184). Some have 
thought that this idea was derived from the Jewish Scriptures, 
and that by some means it found its way eastward, and came 
into the possession of the Chinese sage. Whether this be the 
explanation or not, we can not certainly determine, but, to say 
the least, it seems improbable. Possibly God had inspired 
here and there a great man among the nations to foretell the 
coming One for whom they were unconsciously waiting, and 
whom they so much needed. Certainly such utterances would 
serve no unimportant office in the general preparation. I 
see no reason why we should conclude that all inspiration 
was confined to the chosen people. Some very thoughtful 
and pious men, impressed by the wonderful utterances of the 
Greek philosophers, have boldly claimed that the gift of 
prophecy was not always confined to the prophets and bards 
of Israel. Bishop Newton says: “Wonderful as the gift of 
prophecy was, it was not always confined to the chosen seed, 
nor yet always imparted to the best of men ” (“Newton on the 
Prophecies,” p. 59). 

Even the heathen oracles are held by some to have been 
in some degree under the divine control. Prof. Tyler says, in 
speaking of these oracles: 

Greece and the ancient world were the better for their existence. What for- 
bids us to suppose that they were in some sense directed and overruled by Provi- 
dence, and instead of being under the control of evil spirits, which was the 
prevailing theory among the Christian Fathers, were intended to be the forerunners 
among the heathen as the prophets were among the Jews of the Christian revela- 
tion” (“Theology of the Greek Poets,” page 21 1). 

I cite this, however, merely to show the position of an 
eminent thinker without in any way committing myself to 
his view. 


46 


THE GREA T SAL VA TJON. 


The disciples of Zoroaster were taught to look for a Sosi- 
osch of supernatural origin (“Apostolic Church,” pp. 183, 184). 
Tradition says that his advent was to be heralded by a star. 
May it not be that there is some connection between this 
Persian expectation, doubtless created by the great Persian 
philosopher, and the coming of the Magi to find the infant 
Redeemer, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, 
and saying, “We saw his star in the east and are come to 
worship him ” ? Directly bearing on this point I introduce the 
following quotation from the Memoirs of Mrs. Judith S. Grant, 
a late missionary to Persia, which I copy from Peloubet’s 
Sunday-school Notes, 1880: 

Zoroaster taught the Persians concerning Christ. He declared that in the 
latter days a pure virgin should conceive and that, as soon as the child was born, 
a star would appear blazing even at noonday with undiminished lustre. “ You, my 
sons,” exclaimed the venerable seer, “will perceive its rising before any other 
nation. As soon as you see the star, follow it whithersoever it leads you, and 
adore the mysterious child, offering your gifts to him with profoundest humility. 
He is the Almighty Word which created the heavens.” 

To this may be added a quotation referred to by Prof. 
Schafif, in “Apostolic Church,” p. 184: 

Respecting the star of the Magi, and the remarkable astronomical calculations 
of A. Keppler and others, which have shown that, at the time of Christ’s birth (four 
years before the Dionysian era) a conjunction of the planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars 
took place in the constellation Pisces, to which was added an extraordinary star 
(“ Comp. Wioseler’s Chronologische Synopse der vier Evang.,” 1843, P- 57, sqq.) 

In the same connection he adds : 

The wise astrologers who came to Jerusalem to worship the new-born King 
of the Jews, we must look upon as the noblest representatives of the Messianic 
hopes of the Oriental heathens. 

(3) The Latin historians, Suetonius and Tacitus, refer to a 
belief that was current to the effect that a new universal empire 
would soon arise in Judea (“Apostolic Church,” pp. 183, 184). 


THE FULLNESS OF TIME, 


47 


(4) The fourth eclogue of Virgil was written in the year 
714 A. U. C. , or 39 B. C., when Pollio was consul and as- 
sisted in negotiating the peace of Brundisium. It is remark- 
able for the fact that it seems in some sense to embody a cur- 
rent hope or expectation that existed at the time of its com- 
position. John Conington, in his commentary on the poem, 
says: “The hero of the poem is a child born, or to be born, in 
this auspicious year [B. C. 39], who is gradually to perfect the 
restoration then beginning.” He then goes on to name several 
children, either or neither of which may have been the child 
referred to, adding: 


Any of these births, so far as we can see, may have appeared at the time, to a 
courtly or enthusiastic poet, a sufficient center around which to group the hopes 
already assumed to be rising in men’s minds. The peace of Brundisium itself 
was not so much the cause of this enthusiasm as the occasion for its manifestation, 
the partial satisfaction of a yearning which had long been felt, not merely the 
transient awakening of desires hitherto dormant. How far such hopes may have 
been connected with the expectation of a Messiah opens a wide question. The 
coincidence between Virgil’s language and that of the Old Testament prophets is 
sufficiently striking. 

The following is a somewhat free and poetic rendering of a 
few verses in the beginning of the poem : 

The last age decreed by faith is come, 

And a new frame of all things does begin. 

A holy progeny from heaven descends. 

Auspicious be his birth ; which puts an end 
To the iron age ; and from whence shall rise 
A golden state far glorious through the earth. 

(5) The great Grecian philosophers shared this anticipation 
of a coming One. Prof. Tyler says : 

Socrates and Plato anticipated the advent of the Divine Teacher, advising to 
forego the usual sacrifices till such a Teacher should come (“ Theology of the 
Greek Poets,” p. 44). 


48 


THE GEE A T SAL V A T10N. 


The following quotation is taken from “ Monser’s Encyclo- 
pedia of Evidences ”: 

One of the wisest of the heathen (Socrates) acknowledged that he could 
attain to no certainty respecting religious truth or moral duty, in these memorable 
words: “We must of necessity wait till some one from him who careth for us 
shall come and instruct us how we ought to behave toward God and toward man.” 
He further says: “ We can not know of ourselves what petition will be pleasing 
to God, or what worship we should pay to him ; but it is necessary that a law- 
giver should be sent from heaven to instruct us.” Still further on he says: 
“ This law-giver must be more than man, that he may teach us the things man 
can not know by his own nature” (Plato: “ Republic,” Books IV. and VI.; also, 
“Alcibiades,” II.). 

(6) How harmonious is all this with the need felt by Job 
and the implied longing for a Mediator expressed in these 
words: “For he [God] is not a man as I am, that I should 
answer him and we should come together in judgment. 
Neither is there any daysman betwixt us that might lay his 
hand upon us both/’ He, like Socrates in later ages, felt the 
need of some one to bridge over the chasm between God and 
man. Job longed for a daysman that earth could not furnish ; 
Socrates, for some one to come from heaven to instruct him. 

(7) Even the Messianic kingdom seems to have been un- 
consciously foretold, as a quotation from Fisher, in his “Begin- 
nings of Christianity,” shows: 

Plato’s “ Republic ” offers the finest illustration of the loftiness of his aspi- 
rations, and, at the same time, of the barriers which it was impossible for him to 
overpass. This work gives evidence of the yearning of his mind for a more inti- 
mate union and fellowship of man than had hitherto existed. How could this 
aspiration be realized ? The only form of society in which he could conceive it 
possible for such a community to come into being was the state. And in order to 
give effect to his conception, individuality must be lost in the all-controlling influ- 
ence and sway of the social whole. Plato says that in the best ordered state there 
will be a common feeling, such as pervades the parts of the human body ; he uses 
the very figure of St. Paul when he says of Christians that they are members one 
of another. But this relation could never be produced by any form of political 
society. Besides this insurmountable difficulty, Plato does not escape from the 
pride of race. It is an Hellenic state which he will found, and the Hellenes are 


THE FULLNESS OF TIME. 


49 


not to treat the barbarians as they treat one another, the Hellenic race being 
“ alien and strange to the barbarians.” The vision of the Republic, must, therefore, 
stand as an unconscious prophecy of the kingdom of Christ. The ancient heathen 
world could not supply the conditions demanded for its fulfillment ” (p. 155). 

The wisest of the heathen longed for a common brother- 
hood of man, which they were unable to realize. Jesus taught 
the doctrine of brotherhood of man, and based it on the 
only possible foundation, the Fatherhood of God. In this 
he answered the ardent desire expressed by Plato and others. 

(8) Heathen oracles lent their influence to propagate and 
foster this widespread expectancy, and thus assist in the 
general preparation. 

Suetonius, in his “Life of Augustus, ” chapter xciv., 
quotes Julius Marathus as authority for the statement “ that a 
few months before he [Augustus] was born, a public prodigy 
took place at Rome, by which it was announced that nature 
would give birth to a king for the Roman people. That the 
Senate was terrified, and passed a resolution that no one born 
that year should be educated. That those who had pregnant 
wives (because each one entertained the hope for himself) took 
care that the decree of the Senate should not be given in at 
the ^Erarium ” (i. e ., entered upon the public records). That 
such a prophecy should have been made is a very interesting 
circumstance. Some have attempted to find its fulfillment in 
Augustus. According to certain historians, Cornelius Lentulus 
tried to apply it to himself, but this was ridiculed by Cicero, 
on the ground that it could not be applied to one born in 
Rome. It may be that no prophetic value attaches to these 
Sibylline utterances, but to say the least, the coincidence is 
remarkable, coming as they did a short time previous to the 
birth of Christ, the world’s King. 

It is a remarkable fact that after the birth of Christ these 
heathen oracles suddenly were hushed. In the new “American 
Encyclopedia, ” in the article on ‘ ‘ Oracle, ” this language occurs : 


50 


THE GEE AT SALVATION. 


Eusebius and others affirmed that they became silent at the birth of Christ, 
and assigned as a reason that Christ put an end to the power of Satan on earth, 
and to the worship offered him under the name of God by the Gentiles. 

From this quotation it will be seen that, although some 
have thought it not improbable that certain of the Sibylline 
prophecies may have been inspired by God, others have looked 
upon them as inspired by Satan. At any rate, whether in- 
spired or not, they suddenly ceased about the time of Christ’s 
advent. In the article on u Sibyl,” new ‘ ‘American Encyclo- 
pedia,” we read, in reference to the Sibylline books : 

In the reign of Augustus, more than two thousand spurious prophetic books 
of this description, which had accumulated in private hands, were, at the com. 
mand of the emperor, delivered to the praetor Urbanus and burned. On three 
subsequent occasions the Sibylline books were burned and again restored. 

These heathen prophecies, which once exercised a wonder- 
ful influence, had lost their power. If they contained any 
true prophecy, it was certainly a very small amount as com- 
pared with the great amount uttered. Strenuous attempts 
were made to revive the faith in them, but all to no purpose. 
In another part of the article on 4 ‘ Oracle, ” already referred 
to, we read : 

The Neo-Platonists referred the origin of oracles to the demons, and Plutarch 
explained the cessation of some of the oracles by the death of. the demons. The 
theurgists sought to revive them and oppose them to Christianity. Julian vainly 
attempted to restore the faith in them. 

Porphyry bears the following testimony : 

And now people wonder that this distemper has oppressed the city so many 
years, Esculapius and the other gods no longer conversing with men. For, since 
Jesus has been honored, none have received any public benefit from the gods. 

Mrs. Browning’s poem, entitled “The Dead Pan,” was 
partly founded, as she says, “on a well-known tradition men- 
tioned in a treatise of Plutarch (‘ De Oraculorum Defectu ’), 


THE FULLNESS OF TIME. 


51 


according to which, at the h.our of the Saviour’s agony, a cry 
of * Great Pan is dead !’ swept across the waves in the hearing 
of certain mariners, and the oracles ceased.” A few stanzas 
from the poem may serve to bring the tradition before us in a 
more realistic way : 

Calm of old the bark went onward 
When a cry, more loud than wind, 

Rose up, deepened and swept sunward, 

From the piled dark behind ; 

And the sun shrank and grew pale, 

Breathed against by the great wail, 

“ Pan, Pan is dead.” 

. 

And the rowers from the benches 
Fell each shuddering on his face, 

While departing influences 
Struck a cold back through the place; 

And the shadow of the ship 
Reeled along the passive deep — 

“ Pan, Pan is dead.” 

And that dismal cry rose slowly 
And sank slowly through the air, 

Full of spirits melancholy 
And eternity’s despair, 

And they heard the word it said — 

“ Pan is dead — Great Pan is dead ” — 

“ Pan, Pan is dead.” 

’T was the hour when One on Zion 
Hung for love’s sake on a cross, 

When his brow was chill with dying, 

And his soul was faint with loss ; 

When his priestly blood dropped downward, 

And his kingly eyes looked throneward — 

Then Pan was dead. 

When Jesus Christ expired on the cross, he exclaimed : “It 
is finished!” Wonderfully suggestive words! Long lines of 
prophecy in type and verbal utterance were now fulfilled. 


52 


THE GEE A T SAL VA T10N 


Great nations and races had accomplished their work of prepa- 
ration. Great expectations were now met. Great hopes of 
peasant, seer, philosopher, and poet were now fulfilled, and 
if God ever condescended to use things so weak as Sibylline 
oracles, these, too, were answered. The work of preparation 
was finished, and the kingdom of God, with its world- wide 
beneficent purpose of grace, was established on the firm foun- 
dation, the rock of eternal ages, Jesus Christ. 

2. And the world was bankrupt in hope. All its efforts 
to find the “ Summum Bonum ” had proven futile. 

(1) The flood that swept out of existence an awfully cor- 
rupt and guilty world tells the story of the utter failure that 
characterized all antediluvian attempts to solve the great prob- 
lem of true human happiness and blessedness. 

(2) After the flood, great civilizations were developed in 
the fertile valleys of the Euphrates and Tigris, in Egypt, and 
later in the west under the dominion of Greece and Rome. 
The Oriental Asiatic nations demonstrated the fact that 
national stability and lasting prosperity could not be built 
upon great power selfishly appropriating to itself the posses- 
sions of the weak. Material splendor, as the fruit of robbery, 
could not save a nation. Egypt added the lesson that great 
wealth and magnificence, as the result of boundless natural 
resources, was also unavailing. 

Reference has already been made to the three great les- 
sons of failure taught by Israel, Greece, and Rome. Wealth, 
material splendor, power, culture, wisdom, ceremonialism, 
law, divine and human, had all been tried, and all had ended 
in failure, nor must it be supposed that this resulted from 
any lack of natural ability on the part of the leaders in the 
various fields of thought and action. Men of mighty genius 
appeared in all the ancient nations. Military leaders, states- 
men, artists, poets, law-givers, orators, philosophers appeared 
from time to time, certainly equalling anything witnessed in 


THE FULLNESS OF TIME . 


53 


modern times. It seems that God endowed men with most 
brilliant gifts in all departments of human thought and action, 
so that the world would be left utterly without excuse for its 
awful failure. 

Generation after generation came and passed away, and 
each strove to improve by the struggles and failures of those 
that went before, but all efforts utterly failed. The world was 
fast settling into hopeless despair when Christ came. Nean- 
der, in the Introduction to his Church History, quotes the fol- 
lowing language from the elder Pliny : 


All religion is the offspring of necessity, weakness and fear. What God is, 
if indeed he be anything distinct from the world, it is beyond the compass of 
man’s understanding to know, but it is a foolish delusion which has sprung from 
human weakness and human pride, to imagine that such an infinite spirit would 
concern himself with the petty affairs of men. It is difficult to say whether it 
might not be better to be wholly without religion than to have one of this kind, 
which is a reproach to its object. The vanity of man and his unsatiable long- 
ing after existence, have led him to dream of a life after death. A being full of 
contradictions, he is the most wretched of creatures, since the other creatures 
have not wants transcending the bounds of their nature. Man is full of desires 
and wants that reach to infinity and can never be satisfied. His nature is a lie, 
uniting the greatest poverty with the greatest pride. Among these so great evils, 
the best thing which God has bestowed on man is the power to take his own life. 


A darker picture than this could not v/ell be drawn by 
human pen, and it shows the despair into which the world had 
fallen. This, however, was a necessary factor in the world’s 
preparation. As long as man has hope in himself, he is 
unwilling to accept salvation at the hands of another. When 
he realizes that every chance is gone, he will take hold of the 
hand that God reaches down to him. This was the condition 
of the world when Christ came. Oriental splendor, Hebrew 
religion, Greek culture, Roman law, had each contributed its 
part in the general preparation and taught its own peculiar 
lesson of failure. The great currents of history had all con- 
verged to a single point. The great men of all nations felt 


54 


THE GREA7 SALVATION. 


their own need and their own inability, and were pointing to 
one object, and that object was the great expected One, the 
“Sociosch, ” the one to be born from above, the desire of the 
nations. 

As God’s man always comes in the fullness of time, so 
Jesus came and took his station at the appointed time and 
place. The angels’ song is heard, ‘‘Glory to God in the 
highest, and on earth peace, good will to men.” The desire 
of the ages is at last met. Long lines of history and prophecy 
are now explained and fulfilled. Standing thus in the focal 
point of all history, he grasps the converging lines of the past 
and the diverging lines of the future, and unites them in him- 
self. Through him the centuries that preceded and the cen- 
turies that followed clasped hands, and the world is united in 
a common brotherhood. 

The great apostle to the Gentiles sums up the blessings 
enjoyed in Christ in the following impressive manner : 

But when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son made of 
a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we 
might receive the adoption of sons (Gal. iv. 4, 5). 

Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us 
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ : according as he hath 
chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and 
without blame before him in love. . . . Having made known unto us the mys- 

tery of his will according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself : 
that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all 
things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him 
(Eph. i. 3, 4, 9, 10). 

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the 
firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell ; and, having made 
peace by the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself ; by 
him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. . . . For in 

him [Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Col. i. 18-20 ; ii. 9). 

Job’s “Daysman,” the “Holy One” of Confucius, the 
“Sosiosch” of Zoroaster, and “Heaven-born Messenger” of 


THE FULLNESS OF TIME. 


55 


Socrates, the “Son of God” stands upon the earth and speaks 
the words for which the ages have waited. As men listen and 
catch the divine harmony of his teachings, and slake their 
burning thirst with the water of life, they exclaim, “It is 
He.” 


CHAPTER IV. 


THE FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

Introduction : Explanation of the phrase, ‘ ‘ Kingdom of 
God.” 

1. The word “kingdom ” is used to designate that state or 
condition into which the righteous enter after they pass from 
this world. Jesus, in describing the general judgment, repre- 
sents the good and bad as standing, the one on the right and 
the other on the left, and the Judge as saying to those on the 
right, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom 
prepared for you from the foundation of the world ” (Matt, 
xxv. 34). In II. Peter i. 11 we read: “For so an entrance 
shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting 
kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” This promise 
is given to Christians, who should make their calling and 
election sure by the development of the Christian graces. 
Paul says (I. Cor. xv. 50), “Flesh and blood can not inherit 
the kingdom of God.” 

2. The phrase, “Kingdom of God,” is used to designate 
certain inward principles or a certain state or condition of 
holiness. When the Pharisees demanded of Jesus when the 
kingdom of God should come, he said: “The kingdom 
of God cometh, not with observation ; neither shall they 
say, Lo here! or, Lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of 
God is within you. ” Paul doubtless uses the phrase in this 
sense when he says: “For the kingdom of God is not meat 
and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy 
Spirit” (Rom. xiv. 17). 


FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD . 


57 


3. The phrase is used to designate the outward visible 
organization called the church, composed of prepared persons 
who have entered it by certain definite and clearly defined 
steps. Such persons are in the kingdom in this outward 
sense, and have the kingdom within them in the inward sense 
referred to above. The references to the kingdom in this 
sense are very abundant. Jesus said: “There are some of 
you standing here which shall not taste of death till they see 
the Son of man coming in his kingdom ” (Matt. xvi. 28). 
“ Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to 
give you the kingdom” (Luke xii. 32). “But seek ye first 
the kingdom of God and its righteousness” (Matt. vi. 33). 
John the Baptist said: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven 
is at hand” (Matt. iii. 2). It is scarcely necessary to remark 
that in these quotations, as well as in many other passages 
that might be quoted, the word “kingdom,” and the phrases, 
“kingdom of God,” “kingdom of heaven,” and “kingdom 
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,” are used synonym- 
ously and interchangeably, and designate the outward visible 
kingdom in the world. It will presently appear that the word 
“church” is also used to designate the same outward insti- 
tution. 

We use the phrase “kingdom of God” in the third sense 
referred to above in discussing its foundation. 

We will consider, — 

I. The essential antecedent truth. 

This was prominently brought out in the conversation of 
Christ with his disciples near Caesarea Philippi. 

1. Notice the pointed question of Christ: “Who do men 
say that I, the Son of man, am ?” 

(1) This is a momentous question, and a more important 
one man is never called upon to settle. Upon its answer the 
most stupendous consequences pertaining to this world and the 


58 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


world to come are suspended. To answer it correctly, means 
to place the individual in the line of greatest possibilities and 
highest blessednesss for time and eternity. To answer incor- 
rectly, means to fail in reaching the true ends of being ; it means 
to involve the soul in irretrievable ruin. In this statement no 
reference is made to those persons to whom the question has 
never come. This involves other questions and considerations 
for which we have no room in this connection, and which are 
not germane to this discussion. 

(2) This is a personal question. Every man must meet 
and settle it for himself. Parent can not answer it for child, 
nor child for parent, nor friend for friend. Every one must 
confront this question, decide upon it, and act accordingly. 
In fact, every man will inevitably act upon his decision, if he 
be true to himself. When once this question, with all it in- 
volves, has been fully comprehended and answered by serious, 
earnest souls, the course of life is necessarily determined. 

2. Notice the answer made by the disciples to Christ’s 
question: 4 ‘Some say that thou art John the Baptist ; some, 
Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.” This 
answer shows several things. 

(1) That then, as now, there were differences of opinion. 

(2) That then, as now, men recognized the greatness of 
Christ, even though they had different opinions concerning his 
personality. They saw in him the fidelity of John the Baptist, 
the heroic sternness of Elijah, the tenderness and sympathy of 
Jeremiah, and the high intellectual and moral qualities of the 
prophets in general. 

(3) That men ascribed to him more than the ordinary 
powers of man. They believed in the inspiration of their 
prophets and accorded to Christ the honor of being one of 
them. 

3. Notice Christ’s still more pointed question and Peter’s 
reply: “But who say ye that I am ? And Simon Peter 


FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD . 


59 


answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living 
God.” This answer mounts up to the very climax of possible 
confession. There could be no greater answer given. At 
one bound it leaps to the very highest possible ground 
respecting Christ’s personality. It places him at once upon 
the God level, and, if not true, subjects the man who uttered 
it to the charge of blasphemy, and consequently imperils his 
life under the Jewish law. Such an answer can not be ac- 
counted for except on the ground that it sprang from the deepest 
conviction of its truth. No man will imperil his life by a state- 
ment concerning the truth of which he has the slightest doubt. 

4. Notice Jesus’ reception of this answer: “ Blessed art 
thou, Simon, son of Jona, for flesh and blood hath not re- 
vealed it unto thee, but my Father who art in heaven.” In 
these ’words we see, — 

(1) That Christ accepts the answer as the true one, which, 
even as a good man simply, he could not do if it were false. 

(2) That he pronounces a blessing upon the man who ut- 
tered it, thus testifying to the greatness of the answer. 

(3) That Christ recognizes the supernatural source of the 
answer by declaring it to be a revelation from God, and, con- 
sequently, above the natural powers of man to discover. This 
was true then, and must forever remain true. Men must ever 
base their faith in Christ’s divinity upon the declarations of 
God and the indubitable supernatural evidences furnished. 

5. Notice the declaration of Jesus founded on this answer: 
“And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this 
rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not 
prevail against it ; and I will give unto thee the keys of the 
kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth 
shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on 
earth, shall be loosed in heaven.” 

In this language the following important points should be 
noted : 


60 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


(1) That Christ declares that he will build an institution 
which he calls his church. 

(2) That this institution will rest on a foundation, called 
here “this Rock.” 

(3) That the word “church” is used synonymously with 
the phrase “kingdom of heaven.” (This same use of the 
word is seen in the twelfth chapter of Hebrews: “ But ye are 
come unto Mount Zion and unto the city of the living God, 
the heavenly Jerusalem and to the innumerable company of 
angels, to the general assembly and church of the first born. ” 
A few verses further along the inspired writer says : ‘ ‘ Where- 
fore we, receiving a kingdom that can not be moved, let us 
have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with rever- 
ence and godly fear.” 

(4) That the keys of the kingdom or church were given to 
Peter. Or, in other words, to him was given the honor of 
first opening the door — i. e . , of declaring the terms of admis- 
sion into the kingdom. 

II. The great central truth. 

1. The importance attaching to the question of foundation 
is very great. 

(a) All institutions, of whatever character, rest on some 
foundation. There is some basal proposition or underlying 
principle upon which every institution is built. 

(1) Each different form of government rests on its own 
foundation. An absolute monarchy rests on the proposition 
that the ruler is supreme, and his will the supreme law. A 
republic, such as is seen in the United States of America, rests 
on the proposition that “all men are created equal.” 

(2) Every social institution has its own peculiar basal prin- 
ciple. 

(3) Every organization for moral reform has its underlying 
principle that is peculiar to it. 


FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 


61 


(b) The fundamental proposition or truth determines the 
nature of the institution. You can not build a republic on 
the principle underlying an absolute monarchy, nor can you 
build a monarchy on the principle underlying a republic. 
You can not build a temperance society on the proposition 
that the use of intoxicating liquors as a beverage is beneficial 
or harmless. 

Having settled upon the basal proposition, the nature of 
the institution is thereby fixed and determined. 

2. The nature of the foundation of Christ’s kingdom is, 
therefore, a matter of supreme importance. Let us consider 
this question. 

( a ) As determined by the meaning of the word “rock” 
in Christ’s declaration, ‘ ‘ Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I 
will build my church,” but three suppositions seem possible, 
and, so far as I know, but three views have been promul- 
gated. 

(i) It is held by some that Peter is the rock. He is 
regarded as the chief or primate among the apostles, and this 
primacy, it is claimed, has descended to the bishops of Rome 
in regular succession until the present time, Pope Leo XIII. 
being the present incumbent of St. Peter’s chair. In proof of 
this view, the fact is cited that the word “Peter” — Greek, 
“ Petros ” — means stone. 

To this it may be replied, first, that Christ used the word 
“ petra ” — derived, it is true, from the same root, but of a 
different gender — when he said : “On this rock I will build my 
church ” ; and, second, that there is no proof that Peter had 
any such primacy as is claimed for him by the advocates of this 
view, certainly not such as is claimed and exercised by the 
Pope of Rome. There is a somewhat modified view of the 
foregoing to the effect that the church is founded upon the 
apostles, Peter being named because he was prominent among 
them. In support of this, it is urged that he was the one by 


62 


THE GREAT SALVATION . 


whose hand the first stones in the building were laid, both 
among the Jews and Gentiles, the others afterward joining 
with him in the work. To this, it may be replied that it is 
certainly very unusual to call the man or the men who lay the 
first stones of a building the foundation. If the apostles can 
be called the foundation at all, it certainly is only in a secondary 
sense. They were primary stones in the building, but they of 
themselves were utterly insufficient for a foundation. As 
weak, erring, fallible men, they must needs have a foundation 
for their own support. 

(2) Others by this word “rock" understood the confes- 
sion that Peter has just made, “Thou art the Christ, the Son 
of the living God.” This, it is claimed, will account for the 
change in the gender of the words used, “Thou art Petros 
[a masculine substantive], and upon this Petra [a feminine sub- 
stantive], I will build my church.” This is doubtless very 
much nearer the truth than the foregoing theory. A blessing 
was pronounced on Peter when he made the confession, and 
the statement was made that it had come to him as a revelation 
from God. That this proposition embodies a great truth, and 
one that is vitally essential, is beyond all question. If Christ 
be not the only begotten Son of God, then Christianity is a 
delusion. But while this is undoubtedly true, yet the accuracy 
of the statement that the Church of Christ is founded on this 
confession, may well be called in question. Is the church 
founded on any abstract statement or statements of truth ? 
Such does not seem to be the general tenor of New Testament 
teaching. To believe something about Jesus does not consti- 
tute Christian faith. Neither can one or a hundred proposi- 
tions expressing truth about Jesus constitute the foundation of 
the church. 

(3) Still others understand the word “rock" to refer to 
Christ himself. In this view of the case, the church is 
founded, not on the truth that Christ is the Son of God, but 


FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD . 63 

on Christ himself as the Son of God. Faith in Christ, there- 
fore, is not belief of the proposition that Christ is the Son of 
God, but trust in Christ, the Son of God. That the latter 
involves the former is certainly true, but the former is by no 
means equivalent to the latter. This passage, beyond ques- 
tion, is perfectly harmonious with this view of the case. 
“ Petros ” means a piece of rock, a fragment of stone. 
“ Petra ” means rock in the sense of a large body of rock, or 
a ledge of rock. In classic Greek, this distinction is always 
maintained, and the best authorities say there is no example 
of “ petros ” used in the sense of “ petra ” in classic Greek 
literature. Then why is it necessary to assume that it is so 
used in this passage ? If we depart from classic usage, there 
ought to be some good reason for doing so. True, both 
“ petros ” and “ petra ” might be used to metaphorically repre- 
sent the idea of firmness or stability, but when both are 
brought together in the same sentence, as in this instance, 
both can not refer to the same thing. 

With these facts before us, it is not hard to see Christ’s 
meaning. “Thou art Peter” [Petros). “You are a firm, 
unyielding man ; others may be vacillating and changing — you 
are stable.” “And on this rock” {petra) — referring to his 
own personality, to himself as one who possessed the qualities 
of the petros to a much greater extent, who is as much greater 
than Peter as petra is greater than petros — “ I will build my 
church.” Which is better as a foundation — petros , a piece of 
rock, or petra, the bed rock, of which petros is a mere frag- 
ment ? That which makes Christ a sufficient foundation, a 
petra , is the truth expressed in the proposition, “Thou art the 
Christ, the Son of the living God,” but the proposition is not 
the foundation. It merely expresses a great truth by virtue of 
which Christ declares himself to be the foundation. In this 
view of the case, the clause, “And the gates of Hades shall 
not prevail against it,” refers primarily to Christ’s personal 


64 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


victory over death. He went down into Hades, but the gates 
could not shut him in ; they could not prevail against the 
Rock, Christ Jesus. He came forth a triumphant conqueror, 
bringing life and immortality to light. In a secondary sense, it 
may refer to the church. If death can not hold Christ a pris- 
oner, surely no opposing power will be able to overcome the 
church which is built on him. 

( b ) As determined by prophecy. 

Isaiah, more than seven hundred years before Christ came, 
used this language : “Thus saith the Lord God, Behold I lay 
in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a true stone, a precious 
corner-stone, a sure foundation, and he that believeth shall not 
make haste.” This passage is applied to Christ in the New 
Testament (I. Peter ii. 5-8): “Ye also, as lively stones, are 
built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up 
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, 
because it is contained in the Scripture, Behold I lay in Zion a 
chief corner-stone, elect and precious, and he that believeth on 
him shall not be put to shame. For you, therefore, which 
believe he is precious, but for such as disbelieve, the stone 
which the builders rejected, the same was made the head of the 
corner and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence.” This, 
being an inspired interpretation of Isaiah's prophecy, is 
conclusive. Christ, according to prophecy, was the foundation 
stone. 

(c) As determined by the view of Christ’s apostles. 

* (1) In Ephesians ii. 19, 20, we read : “So then, ye are no 

more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow citizens with 
the saints, and of the household of God, being built upon the 
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself 
being the chief corner-stone.” It must not be thought that 
this passage makes the apostles and prophets the foundation, 
since, according to the best critics, these words are in the gen- 
itive of the author. Jesus Christ is the foundation or chief 


FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 


65 


corner-stone to which prophets pointed, and which the apos- 
tles laid as the foundation of the church, and hence he was the 
foundation of the apostles and prophets. 

(2) In I. Corinthians iii. 10, 11, we have an explicit declar- 
ation which can not be misunderstood: “According to the 
grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master 
builder, I laid the foundation and another buildeth thereon. 
For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, 
which is Jesus Christ.” This is conclusive, and it is in beau- 
tiful accord with Christ’s words to Peter : ‘ ‘ On this rock I will 
build my church.” 

III. The important consequent truths. 

1. This foundation determines the character, of the govern- 
ment. 

(a) A government founded on a person is necessarily mon- 
archical. If the ruler be subjected to constitutional restrictions 
in the exercise of his power, the government is a limited mon- 
archy ; otherwise, it is absolute. Restrictions are put upon 
rulers because of their disposition to abuse power. It is very 
hard for the sovereign to exercise his power for the good of the 
governed, regardless of all purely selfish considerations ; con- 
sequently, the history of monarchical forms of government has 
been the history of the struggles of the masses to wrest from 
the hands of ifnwilling despots the rights of which they have 
been deprived. If rulers were infallible, the rights of the 
people would not be invaded, and monarchical government 
would be the ideal government. 

( b ) The kingdom, being built on Christ, is determined as to 
its character and quality by what Christ is, and this is couched 
in the proposition, ‘ ‘ Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living 
God.” Accepting this truth, — 

(1) We conclude that on a priori grounds the kingdom is 
an absolute monarchy. There are no constitutional limitations 


66 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


upon Christ, the King. No man, or set of men, may say to 
him: “ Thus far, and no farther.” None may make laws or 
regulations for his kingdom, or set aside those he has made. 
His will is the supreme law. When he has spoken, all contro- 
versy ends. From his decisions there is no appeal, and no one 
has authority to abrogate his laws. 

(2) We see that this form of government is in accordance 
with New Testament teaching. As the Son of God, Jesus 
says: “ All authority has been given unto me in heaven and 
on earth. ” How beautifully this declaration harmonizes with 
the words of the Father: “This is my beloved Son, in whom 
I am well pleased. Hear ye him.” As God manifest in the 
flesh, all authority belonged to him, and he spake and acted 
with the authority of God. 

(3) We feel that this is the ideal form of government under 
the circumstances. With a ruler infinite in all his attributes 
and perfect in every respect, an absolute monarchy is of all 
governments the most to be desired. He can and will pro- 
tect his subjects. He will not invade their rights ; he will do 
them no injustice or wrong. His laws will never need to be 
abrogated or changed, because they will always be perfect. 
From his decisions there need be no appeal, because they will 
be always just and right. A republic is the ideal form of 
government among men when the people are enlightened and 
virtuous, because the whole people are more likely, under 
such circumstances, to be right, and less likely to do wrong 
than one man ; but no people will ever become so enlightened 
or virtuous that they will be superior to the infinite, infallible 
God, and in our ruler ‘ ‘ dwelleth all the fullness of the God- 
head bodily.” 

2. This foundation determines the basis of citizenship. 

(a) The basis of membership in any organization lies in 
the acceptance of the foundation and the declaration of the 
loyalty to that. One may become a citizen of a monarchical 


FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD . 


67 


form of government by accepting the ruler and swearing loy- 
alty to him. One may become a citizen of a republic by 
accepting the fundamental principle upon which it is based 
and taking the oath of allegiance. One may become a mem- 
ber of any social and moral institution by accepting its funda- 
mental doctrine and submitting to the prescribed forms of 
introduction. These propositions are so self-evident as to 
need no argument. 

( b ) Since the foundation of the church is a person, and not 
abstract truths or doctrines, it follows that the basis of mem- 
bership is not doctrinal. It is not a question of believing cer- 
tain dogmas, few or many, but of accepting the divine person, 
Jesus Christ, who is the foundation. This is done by formally 
and openly professing faith in him, and submitting to the ini- 
tiatory rite of baptism which he has ordained and imposed. 
Because this is the culminating act, we are said to be baptized 
into Christ. The steps logically involved in this process, and 
also clearly indicated in New Testament teaching, are : 

( 1) Faith or trust in Christ, by which the heart is changed. 

(2) Repentance, or change of mind, resulting from sorrow 
for sin and leading to reformation of life. 

(3) Public confession with the lips, of the faith in the 
heart, by which the foundation is openly accepted. 

(4) Baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy 
Spirit, as the divinely imposed form of initiation, and by which 
the state or relation of the individual is changed. 

In this it will be seen that the open acceptance of the 
foundation is preceded by faith and repentance, the reason for 
which lies in the necessities of the case, and is followed by 
baptism, the reason for which lies wholly in the authority of 
the King. This is perfectly in harmony with reason. The 
King has an undoubted right to prescribe the initiatory cere- 
mony by which persons properly prepared may be inducted 
into the kingdom, and those who accept the King, and thus 


68 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


place themselves under his authority, are under obligation to 
submit to the ordinance imposed. 

3. The foundation determines the stability of the kingdom. 

(1) The strength and stability of an institution is deter- 
mined very largely by the strength of the foundation. A 
government resting upon a man necessarily has certain ele- 
ments of weakness. Human rulers are all fallible, and have 
all the weaknesses that belong to men which lead to injustice 
and wrong. Herein are the seeds of ruin. All, too, are sub- 
ject to death, and this is always a disturbing factor in govern- 
ment, and sometimes leads to overthrow. 

(2) The kingdom of Jesus Christ, being built on an infalli- 
ble ruler, and one who has conquered* death, has no such ele- 
ments of weakness. It is built, not upon a great and good 
man, but upon a divine person ; not upon a dead and buried 
Christ, but upon a risen Lord and Saviour. Its ruler is as 
much alive to-day as when he trod the hills and valleys of Pal- 
estine, healing the maladies of men, and speaking words of 
comfort and cheer to sad and burdened hearts. We need not 
fear that the weaknesses of this King will endanger the 
stability of the kingdom, or that the death of the King will 
result in its overthrow. 

John, on the Isle of Patmos, saw and heard the King, and 
describes his beatific vision in these wonderful words: “And 
having turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks [representing 
the churches], and in the midst of the candlesticks one like 
unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, 
and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle, and his head 
and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow, and his 
eyes were as a flame of fire, and his feet like unto burnished 
brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace; and his voice as 
the voice of many waters; and he had on his right hand seven 
stars ; and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged 
sword, and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his 


FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 


69 


strength ; and when I saw him I fell at his feet as one dead, 
and he laid his right hand on me, saying, Fear not, I am the 
first and the last and the living one ; and I was dead, and be- 
hold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and 
of Hades.” 

Before this King we may well bow in adoration and rever- 
ence. On this foundation we can stand secure amidst all the 
storms and commotions of time. “Of his kingdom there 
shall be no end.” 


CHAPTER V. 


THE BEGINNING OF THB KINGDOM OF GOD. 

Introduction : In order to ascertain when the kingdom of 
God was established in the world, it is very necessary that we 
should have a clear idea of what is meant by the phrase, 
“ Kingdom of God.” In other words, the expression must be 
used in a definite sense that we clearly understand ; otherwise 
our search may prove barren of any good results, or, what is 
worse, we may reach entirely erroneous conclusions. 

We have seen, in a previous chapter, that the word “king- 
dom ” is used in at least three senses : (i) It is employed to 

designate the state into which the righteous enter after the res- 
urrection of the dead, when Christ shall deliver up the king- 
dom to God, the Father, that he may be all in all. (2) It is 
used to designate the rule of a certain inward governing 
principle, regulating and determining the life of the individual, 
or, perhaps, it would be equally as accurate to say, that it is 
used to designate a certain inward state or condition. In this 
sense, the kingdom is within the soul. (3) It is also used to 
designate the outward visible organization, called the “ Church 
of God,” or “ Church of Christ,” which is composed of those 
in whom certain inward principles have become dominant, and 
who have taken the definite initiatory steps prescribed by 
Christ and his apostles as the conditions of admission. 

To the foregoing may be added still another kingdom, 
called the “kingdom of Nature,” which, in one sense, is a 
kingdom of God, since God is the author of nature. Disre- 
garding the inward kingdom of principles, for the reason that 

70 


THE BEGINNING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD . 


71 


it is embraced in the outward or visible church, we have the 
three great kingdoms of nature, grace, and glory, into each of 
which man is introduced by a birth — into the kingdom of 
nature, by the natural birth ; into the kingdom of grace (the 
church), by a spiritual birth; into the kingdom of glory (the 
everlasting kingdom), by a birth from the grave, or the resur- 
rection from the dead. 

In this discussion, however, we use the phrase, “ King- 
dom of God, ” to designate the kingdom of grace, or the 
Church of Christ ; and to ascertain, if possible, the exact 
time when this institution was inaugurated, is the purpose of 
this chapter. 

In our investigations we will consider, — 

I. Some of the possible views that may be entertained with 
respect to this question, and especially such as are liable to 
result from an ambiguous or indefinite use of the phrase, “ King- 
dom of God.” 

It is possible to hold, — 

i. That the kingdom has had an existence from all 
eternity. 

If this position be taken, one of two things is meant: either 

(1) that God’s kingdom includes all things animate and inani- 
mate, celestial and terrestrial, and that, consequently, man as 
a part of the great system of nature, is in that kingdom ; or 

(2) that the purpose of God respecting this kingdom is equiv- 
alent to the kingdom itself. In this view of the case, the 
kingdom had no beginning unless it can be said that this pur- 
pose of God had a beginning. 

The former of these views would make the kingdom of 
God identical with the great kingdom of nature ; the latter 
would confound it with the eternal purpose of God; or, in 
other words, it makes no discrimination between the purpose 
to do and the purpose accomplished. 


72 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


2. That while the kingdom existed in the purpose of God 
from all eternity, yet it had no actual existence until the crea- 
tion of man. 

In this view of the case, Adam was the first citizen of the 
kingdom, and all of God’s dealings with the race from the 
beginning present different aspects of the same kingdom, 
or different phases of the divine government or administra- 
tion. 

3. That the kingdom began immediately after the deluge, 
or possibly, immediately before. At any rate, Noah and his 
family, consisting in all of eight souls, would constitute the 
first citizens, according to this view. 

4. That the kingdom was established in the days of Abra- 
ham, the fleshly posterity of Abraham constituting the original 
citizens of the kingdom. Those who adhere to this view main- 
tain that the basis of citizenship was afterwards enlarged so as 
to include a spiritual seed. However, there is no sharp line of 
distinction drawn between the law of Moses and the gospel of 
Christ, but the two are run together, thus constituting a con- 
tinuous church or kingdom. According to this view, a certain 
part of the law known as the ceremonial portion, was abro- 
gated, while the remainder, known as the moral law, was 
continued, and upon this were engrafted certain new princi- 
ples, under which the Gentiles were admitted to citizen- 
ship. It will be seen that in this view of the case, the 
Church of Christ is not a new and independent institution 
resting on its own foundation, but simply a continuation of 
the old Jewish institution, under somewhat changed or mod- 
ified aspects. 

This, for some unaccountable reason, has been a very 
popular view, and those who have taught that the whole 
Mosaic code, both moral and ceremonial, was abrogated, have 
been regarded by many as holding dangerous heresy. 


THE BEGINNING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 73 

5. That the kingdom has its beginning in the days of John 
the Baptist. Those who repented under the ministry of John, 
and were obedient to his baptism, must necessarily have con- 
stituted the first citizens of the kingdom, according to this 
view. 

6. That the kingdom was established during Christ’s per- 
sonal ministry here on earth. According to this view, the 
twelve apostles, or possibly the seventy disciples, constituted 
the charter members of the kingdom. 

7. The kingdom was established on the first Pentecost after 
Christ’s resurrection by the apostles of Christ, when, under 
the preaching of Peter, three thousand were convicted of sin 
and bowed to the authority of Christ in the act of baptism. 
According to this view, the three thousand new converts, to- 
gether with the apostles and personal disciples of Christ, con- 
stituted the first citizens of the kingdom. Those who hold 
this view, maintain that then, for the first time, all the ele- 
ments of the kingdom were present and the necessary con- 
ditions of a kingdom fulfilled. 

8. Last of all, there are some who hold that the kingdom 
has no actual existence at the present time, but they look for- 
ward to its establishment when the millennium shall be ushered 
in. Then, it is claimed, Christ will assume kingly powers and 
prerogatives. 

If we succeed in accomplishing the purpose of this chapter, 
we must decide which, if any, of these possible views is cor- 
rect. 

It will be seen that the range of possibility lies between 
two wide extremes. We appear to be under the necessity of 
searching from the eternal past into the indefinite future in 
order to accomplish our object, if we would give the views 
mentioned serious consideration ; but, happily, we are under 
no such necessity. Our task very much simpler, as will 
appear, when we consider, — 


74 


THE G REA T SAL V A T10N. 


II. The utterances of New Testament teachers restricting 
the possible period within very narrow limits. 

1. John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of 
Judaea, saying, “ Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at 
hand.” Two conclusions may be drawn from this language 
that seem reasonable and natural : (i) That the kingdom of 
heaven was not yet an actually existing fact. (2) That it was 
by or at hand, or, in other words, that it would be established 
in the near future. 

2. The teaching of Christ is perfectly harmonious with this 
idea. (1) In Mark i. 14, 15 : “Now, after that John was put 
into prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of 
the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the 
kingdom of God is at hand ; repent ye, and believe the gos- 
pel. ” The word gospel here must, however, refer to the good 
news concerning the coming kingdom. This, like the language 
of John, points to the near approach of the kingdom. (2) 
When Christ sent out the twelve under his first commission, 
he said to them, “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and 
into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not, but go rather to 
the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and as ye go, preach, 
saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand ” (Matt. x. 5-7). 
This passage teaches the same doctrine that is taught in the 
foregoing passage. 

The restricted nature of this commission shows that the 
kingdom had not yet come. This was merely preparatory 
work that Christ sent the twelve to do. (3) When Peter made 
his wonderful confession near Caesarea Philippi, Christ said to 
him: “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of 
heaven ; whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in 
heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be 
loosed in heaven ” (Matt. xvi. 19). Since Peter was to do this 
binding and loosening on earth, it follows that this kingdom 
must have come into existence during his lifetime. This, too, 


THE BEGINNING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 75 

suggests the near approach of the kingdom. (4) Jesus taught 
his disciples to pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done/* 
This indicates that the kingdom had not yet come. True, we 
pray the same prayer now ; but in doing so, we pray for the 
wider extent of the kingdom that is already established ; but 
Christ evidently used the expression in no such sense, as 
becomes apparent when we place the language by the side of 
the other passages just quoted. (5) He also said, “ Fear not, 
little flock— -it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the 
kingdom.” Thus we see that they were taught to pray for the 
kingdom to come, and they were assured that it was the good 
pleasure of the Father to answer the prayer. 

3. The utterances of Christ’s apostles, after his ascension, 
are perfectly consistent with this teaching of Christ while still 
on earth. (1) Paul said to the Thessalonians, “Ye know how 
we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as 
a father doth his children, that ye would walk worthy of God, 
who hath called you into his kingdom and glory ” (I. Thess. ii. 
11, 12). (2) The writer to the Hebrews said: “But ye are 

come unto Mt. Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the 
heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 
to the general assembly and church of the first born, . . . 

wherefore we, receiving a kingdom which can not be moved, 
let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with 
reverence and godly fear” (Heb. xii. 22, 28). (3) To the 

Colossians, Paul said : “ Giving thanks unto the Father, which 
hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the 
saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of dark- 
ness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of God’s dear 
Son ” (Col. i. 12, 13). (4) In writing to the seven churches in 

Asia, John said: “I, John, who am your brother and com- 
panion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of 
Jesus Christ, was in the isle called Patmos, for the word of 
God” (Rev. i. 19). 


76 THE GEE A T SAL VA TION. 

Other passages of similar import might be introduced from 
New Testament writers. 

These quotations from John the Baptist, Christ, and the 
apostles, are abundantly sufficient to establish two important 
points: (i) That the kingdom was in existence when the 
apostles wrote the language just referred to ; (2) that the king- 
dom was not in existence when John the Baptist and Christ 
spoke the words quoted above, but was near at hand. It 
must, therefore, have come during this intervening period. 
This conclusion is necessary and irresistible. Accordingly the 
problem with which we have to deal is very much simplified, 
since our search for the beginning of the kingdom must needs 
be restricted to a brief interval of time, which certainly did 
not exceed twenty-five years in the most. 

Our farther search will be materially assisted by calling to 
mind, — 

III. The necessary elements and essential logical obligations 
of the kingdom. 

1. In every kingdom, at least four things must be present. 
In order for a kingdom to exist as an actual fact, there must be 
(1) a king, (2) citizens, (3) territory of some kind, (4) a law of 
citizenship. We may, therefore, expect to find these elements 
present when we find the kingdom of God as an actual existing 
institution. 

2. The gospel must have been preached either before or at 
the time of the establishment of the kingdom. It must ever 
be kept in mind that the kingdom of God is spiritual. Its rule 
is exerted over the hearts of men. It affects or regulates out- 
ward conduct and action by means of an inward power. Its 
citizens are composed of spiritually prepared persons, and the 
great factor in accomplishing this needed preparation is termed 
in the Scriptures “The Gospel.” Hence Jesus said: “Go 
preach the gospel to every creature.” The Apostle Peter said : 


THE BEGINNING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 


77 


41 God made choice among us that the Gentiles, by my mouth, 
should hear the word of the gospel and believe.” Paul 
declared: “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it 
is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believ- 
eth.” It therefore follows that the gospel must have been 
preached as a necessary antecedent condition of God’s king, 
dom. We consequently find that the kingdom of God exists 
nowhere in earth where the gospel has not gone. 

3. The Holy Spirit must have come in harmony with 
Christ’s promise. Christ’s kingdom is a kingdom of truth. 
When Pilate said, “Art thou a king then?” Jesus replied: 
“ Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and 
for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness 
unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my 
voice” (John xviii. 37). Of course, we understand that Christ 
referred to spiritual truth. He did not come to reveal or bear 
witness to secular or scientific truth, that is discoverable by 
man through the natural channels that are open to him. But 
even in the domain of spiritual truth, which must come as a 
special gift, Christ did not complete the full revelation when 
here in person. He said to his disciples while yet present with 
them : 

If ye love me, keep my commandments, and I will pray the Father, and he 
shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever, even the 
Spirit of truth (John xiv. 15-17). 

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in 
my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, 
whatsoever I have said unto you (John xiv. 26). 

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away, for 
if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will 
send him unto you (John xvi. 7). 

From these passages we learn that the full measure of truth 
that belonged to the kingdom of God was to be completed by 
the coming of the Holy Spirit, or Comforter, which Christ said 
could not take place so long as he was here. 


78 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


We are naturally led to consider, — 

IV. The maturing of all the necessary conditions which must 
of necessity bring us to the beginning of the kingdom. 

This necessarily involved a large amount of preparatory 
work. This preparation, as a matter of fact, extended 
through ages, and even millenniums, and the reasons for this 
will become very apparent as the nature of the work comes to 
be understood. 

1. The purpose of God and the means of its accomplish- 
ment had to be made apparent. There is something which 
Paul calls “the eternal purpose of God.” This purpose is 
nothing less than the salvation of man, which is a twofold 
blessing. It involves (i) a present salvation from the guilt, 
love, and practice of sin, and (2) a future or eternal salvation 
from the consequences of sin, in which man shall continue in a 
state of perfect holiness and consequent bliss. The kingdom 
of God contemplates in its blessings this great salvation, and 
its citizens are composed of those who enjoy this present salva- 
tion, and who hold the future salvation in prospect. Its King 
is the one through whom and by whom the great blessing is 
secured. This purpose was embodied in the promise to Abra- 
ham in the words : “In thee and in thy seed shall all the fam- 
ilies of the earth be blessed.” 

This promised seed Paul declares to be the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises 
made. He said not, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as 
of one, “And to thy seed,” which is Christ. 

2. The claims of the King had to be fully substantiated. 

Extraordinary claims always call for extraordinary proof. 

Christ, the King, makes the most wonderful claims. He 
deliberately claims divinity. He declared (1) that he came 
from God ; (2) that he existed with the Father before the world 
was; (3) that he was one with the Father; (4) that he fully 


THE BEGINNING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD . 


79 


revealed the Father in his own personality ; (5) that he was a 
divine King, and as such he claimed the homage and allegiance 
of men ; (6) that he was going to the Father when he should 
leave this world ; (7) that he would come a second time to call 
forth the dead from their graves and sit in judgment upon an 
assembled universe. In order to make good these wonderful 
claims, finger-boards were erected all along the ages, pointing 
forward to the coming One. Prophecy in word and symbol 
was freely given, by which the King and his kingdom were 
clearly pointed out in the minutest details by the most explicit 
specifications. 

Finally, John, the harbinger, appeared, explicitly declaring 
the arrival of the King, and pointing him out. His work was, 
therefore, not to establish a kingdom, but to assist in getting 
men ready for one. His message was: “ Repent, for the 
kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He came, as he said, in the 
fulfillment of prophecy, “To prepare the way of the Lord, 
make his paths straight. ” When the King arrived, he pro- 
ceeded to substantiate his most extraordinary claims by the 
most wonderful miraculous works and his still more wonderful 
teachings. In him a long line of prophecy was seen to have a 
perfect fulfillment. 

3. The nature and fundamental principles of the kingdom 
had to be clearly set forth. This Christ accomplished during 
his personal ministry. He stated clearly the nature of his 
kingdom, disclaiming any intention of becoming a temporal 
ruler. He taught the great characteristic truths of his govern- 
ment, and attempted in all possible ways to disabuse the 
minds of the people, and of his disciples in particular, of 
their erroneous ideas concerning himself and his kingdom. 
But the most emphatic statements were not sufficient to destroy 
these false conceptions. His disciples, up to the time of his 
death, were expecting him to become a temporal ruler and to 
sit on the literal throne of David. “ Wilt thou at this time 


80 


THE GEE AT SALVATION. 


restore the kingdom of Israel ?” Such words reveal the ideas 
his followers entertained. It is scarcely necessary to remark 
that Christ at this time certainly could have had no kingdom 
as an existing institution, since its nature was utterly misun- 
derstood by even his most intimate followers. But after his 
resurrection from the dead, the great truth dawned upon the 
minds of his followers, and the kind of kingdom he came to 
establish was understood. 

He also revealed himself in his threefold relation as 
Prophet, Priest, and King, thus, in the fullness of his work, 
meeting man’s three great wants. 

4. A nucleus of prepared persons had to be gotten ready. 

Christ’s personal work consisted in part of the education and 

training of the twelve apostles for the great work of establish- 
ing the kingdom of God in the world. These were to go 
forth as his witnesses and embassadors, and they must, conse- 
quently, needs be instructed concerning the kingdom, and 
qualified for their work. This was a gradual process that 
extended over a period of three and a half years, but when it 
was done it was well done. Braver champions of the truth 
the world never saw. While this was being done, still others 
were prepared to receive this kingdom and to assist in subordi- 
nate positions in its establishment. 

5. The great facts of the gospel had to be accomplished. 

The gospel of Jesus Christ consists in the first place of 

certain facts to be believed. This necessarily leads to certain 
commands which are to be obeyed, and this is followed by 
certain promises to be enjoyed. We are left in no doubt as 
to what the facts of the gospel are. Paul gives us a clear and 
explicit statement in the following language : ‘‘Moreover, 
brethren, I declare unto you, which also ye have received and 
wherein ye stand ; by which, also, ye are saved if ye keep in 
memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in 
vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I 


THE BEGINNING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD , 


81 


received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the 
Scriptures; that he was buried, and that he rose again the 
third day, according to the Scriptures ; and that he was seen 
of Cephas, then of the twelve . . .” (I. Cor. xv. 1-5). 

If, then, the preaching of the gospel is necessary to prepare 
men for citizenship in the kingdom, these facts must have been 
accomplished before the kingdom was established. Christ, 
therefore, told his disciples plainly that il he must go unto Jeru- 
salem and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests 
and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day” 
(Matt. xvi. 21). But this was utterly incomprehensible to the 
disciples, and when the officers came to arrest Jesus, Peter 
drew his sword to prevent it, and smote the servant of the 
high priest, and cut off his ear. Jesus, however, rebuked him 
for the act, and calmly surrendered himself into the hands of 
his enemies. He was reaching the climatic point in his life 
and work, and he never wavered a moment in his purpose. 
He freely poured out his life. Having power to rescue himself, 
he nevertheless submitted to the will of his enemies. It was, 
however, a voluntary death on his part. He said, “ There- 
fore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life that 
I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay 
it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have 
power to take it again ” (John x. 17, 18). He slept at last in 
Joseph’s tomb, but on the third day he rose from the grave 
by his own inherent power and might, thus bringing life and 
immortality to light, and accomplishing the great facts of the 
gospel. Thomas alone of the eleven remained for a time in 
doubt, but finally Christ submitted to the test he had named, 
and said to him, ‘ ‘ Reach hither thy finger and behold my 
hands, and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side, 
and be not faithless, but believing” (John xx. 27). Thomas 
is at once convinced and exclaims, “ My Lord and my 
God!” 


82 


THE GEE A T SAL VA TION. 


The great facts which Paul declared to be the gospel are 
now accomplished. Another majestic step toward the estab- 
lishment of the kingdom has been taken. 

6. The great consummating fact of the gospel, the resur- 
rection of Christ, had to be firmly established. If this point 
be left in doubt, all would end in failure. Christ remained on 
earth forty days after his resurrection, and there are nine 
appearances recorded, which took place during this period. 
He appeared (i) to the women on the morning of the resur- 
rection ; (2) to Peter, very soon after ; (3) to two disciples, on 
the evening of the same day, as they went to Emmaus ; (4) 
to the ten, on the same evening, as they were assembled in 
Jerusalem, Thomas being absent ; (5) to the eleven, one week 
later, Thomas being present; (6) to several disciples on the 
shore of Galilee, and ate with them ; (7) to about five hundred 
at one time on a mountain in Galilee ; (8) to James alone ; (9) 
to the eleven at the time of the ascension. After his ascension, 
he appeared once to Saul of Tarsus, to qualify him for the 
apostleship, and once to John on Patmos. During the time 
Jesus remained on earth, he subjected himself to every pos- 
sible test. He talked with his disciples ; ate with them ; told 
them to handle him, thus seeking in every way to remove any 
possible doubts that they might have entertained. That he 
succeeded, is shown by the fact that these disciples never 
wavered in their faith in Christ’s resurrection, showing them- 
selves willing to die for their faith, rather than surrender it. 

7. The law of citizenship had to be declared. 

This law is clearly brought out in Christ’s commission to 
his disciples, which is recorded in the following language : 

All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth : go ye, therefore, and 
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
of the Holy Spirit ; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have com- 
manded you ; and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world (Matt, 
xxviii. 18 -20). 


THE BEGINNING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 


83 


Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that 
believeth and is baptized, shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned 
(Mark xvi. 15, 16). 

Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the 
dead the third day ; that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in 
his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke xxiv. 46, 47). 

And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, 
Receive ye the Holy Ghost : whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, 
and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained (John xx. 22, 23). 

From these Scriptures the following points may readily be 
gleaned : (i) That it was Christ’s purpose to have the gospel 
preached in all the world ; (2) that the conditions of salvation 
from sin, as announced by Christ, were faith, repentance, and 
baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ; (3) 
that persons complying with these conditions have the promise 
of pardon. These conditions constitute not only the law 
of pardon, but also the law of citizenship, since the same steps 
that eventuate in pardon lead also to citizenship. 

Paul says of the saved or pardoned persons: “ Now, there- 
fore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citi- 
zens with the saints and of the household of God, and are 
built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, Jesus 
Christ himself being the chief corner-stone, in whom all the 
building, fitly joined together, groweth into a holy temple in 
the Lord ; in whom ye also are builded together for an habita- 
tion of God through the Spirit ” (Eph. ii. 19-22). 

8. The king had to be seated on the throne. 

Jesus having commissioned his disciples, told them to tarry 
in Jerusalem until they should be indued with power from on 
high. This instruction was in perfect keeping with his former 
promise, that if he should go away he would send them the 
Comforter, who would teach them all things. He then led 
them up into the Mount of Olives, east of the city of Jerusa- 
lem, and after he had given them his last instructions, telling 
Peter to feed his lambs and sheep, he rose up from their midst 


84 


THE GREA T SAL VA T10N. 


and passed out of their sight, returning to that heaven from 
whence he had come on his mission of love and mercy to a 
lost world. While the disciples stood gazing up into heaven 
after their ascending Lord, two angels appeared and said to 
them: “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into 
heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into 
heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go 
into heaven ” (Acts i. 1 1). 

There is, however, one important difference that should 
ever be borne in mind. Jesus will certainly come in like man- 
ner as he ascended, but his second mission will be far different 
from his first. He will not come to be mocked and buffeted, 
and persecuted, and slain, but he will come “in flaming fire, 
taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey 
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and, blessed be 
God, he will come to make up his jewels and take his ran- 
somed people home. Upon the prophetic chariot of David, 
we are enabled to follow Jesus, and hear what is said as he 
neared the portals of the celestial city. The commandment 
went forth : “ Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; and be ye lifted 
up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come 
in.” And the reply comes back, “Who is the King of 
glory?” and the answer is heard, “The Lord, strong and 
and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O 
ye gates ; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King 
of glory shall come in.” Once more the reply comes back, 
“ Who is the King of glory?” and again the answer is made, 
“ The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory ” (Psa. xxiv. 7-10). 

Then the gates are lifted up, and Jesus, together with his 
triumphal procession, composed doubtless of many of the 
saints who had risen from the dead when Christ unlocked the 
doors of the unseen world at the time of his resurrection, 
passed within the portals of the eternal city amidst exultant 
shouts of angels and thrilling strains of heavenly music. 


THE BEGINNING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD . 85 

Then the King takes the throne that he is to occupy until he 
shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power, and 
all enemies have been subdued unto him. Then will he 
surrender the kingdom to God, the Father, that he may be all 
in all. 

Another sublime step has been taken. The King is seated 
on his throne. Henceforth “to him shall the gathering of the 
people be.” 

Before proceeding to the final consummation, it may be 
well to briefly review the preparatory steps by which God has 
moved majestically forward to the accomplishment of his great 
purpose. 

First, then, we have the eternal purpose of God that con- 
templates the salvation of man from the thralldom of sin and 
his elevation to the fellowship of God and to the society of 
unfallen spirits. When man made his appearance on earth 
and failed under the testing process to which he was subjected, 
this purpose of God is revealed somewhat obscurely to our 
first mother in a promise that her seed should bruise the ser- 
pent’s head. Ages moved slowly onward while God’s prepa- 
ration progressed, until finally the great purpose is embodied 
in a promise to Abraham, the father of the faithful. Then 
followed the development of the elect typical nation with its 
typical worship, pointing forward to the spiritual kingdom for 
which God was preparing the world by his wonderful provi- 
dence. Then came the prophets, the mighty men of God, 
whose mission was to reform and instruct the typical nation, 
and to keep the eyes of all fixed upon the coming King and 
his kingdom. 

Then came John the Baptist, to prepare the way for the 
Lord and make his paths straight. At last, he for whom the 
ages had waited appeared. His whole personal ministry here 
on earth was occupied in preparation for the kingdom, until he 
ascended to occupy the throne. Up to this time the work 


86 


THE GEE A 7' SAL VAT/ON. 


was all preparatory; each one elected in the wisdom and 
providence of God had simply done a preparatory work. 
God was getting ready to establish a kingdom such as the 
world had never seen before, that was to conquer all opposing 
powers and finally fill the whole earth. 

No gospel sermon had ever yet been preached, except the 
gospel of promise. Now, for the first time, the facts could be 
published to the world. Great as was the mission of Noah, 
and Abraham, and Moses, and David, and Elijah, and Isaiah, 
and John, and hosts of other mighty men of Israel and Judah, 
none had ever had the privilege of preaching the gospel in 
fact, for the simple reason that the facts had not yet occurred. 
True, Paul says (Gal. iii. 8) that the gospel was preached to 
Abraham, and in referring to the chosen people, he says 
(Heb. iv. 2 ): “ Unto us was the gospel preached as well as 
unto them,” but it is perfectly clear that Paul means by this, 
the gospel of promise and the good news concerning a prom- 
ised Saviour. The gospel in fact could not have been 
preached before the facts occurred. 

This process is illustrated in the history of any great enter- 
prise that men inaugurate. The construction of a line of rail- 
road would be an example in point. First the road exists in 
the purpose, either of some man or of a company of men. 
This corresponds to God’s eternal purpose embracing the gos- 
pel. Then this purpose is probably embodied in a promise to 
build the road. This corresponds to the promise to Abraham. 
Then come the prophets, who tell of the coming road, describe 
it perhaps in detail, and unfold its blessings. This corresponds 
to the work of the prophets of Israel and Judah. Then the 
track is surveyed by the harbingers, and the path is made 
straight. Here is the illustration of the work of John the 
Baptist. Then the grading is done, and the ties and rails are 
placed. This illustrates the personal work of Christ while 


THE BEGINNING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 


87 


here on earth. These are the steps by which God’s great 
highway for the nations was constructed. 

We are now ready to consider, — 

V. The complete work of God’s great purpose realized. 

1. The waiting, expecting disciples first arrest our atten- 
tion. While the coronation ceremonies are in progress in 
heaven, the disciples in an upper room in Jerusalem, in obedience 
to Christ’s instructions, are waiting for the promised blessing. 
This interval is spent in prayer and supplication. Seven days 
are spent in this manner, but they were by no means wasted 
days. This season of prayer and supplication furnished the 
needed preparation for the great blessing that was soon to fol- 
low. 

2. The next striking incident that arrests our attention is 
the descent of the Holy Spirit. “When the day of Pente- 
cost was now come, they were all together in one place, and sud- 
denly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a 
mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 
And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder like 
as fire, and it sat upon each one of them, and they were 
all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with 
other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance ” (Acts ii. 
i-4). 

Now the promise of Christ is fulfilled. The Spirit of truth 
has come to assist in the founding of the kingdom of truth, 
by leading Christ’s ambassadors into all truth. Now the 
great message for which the world had waited can be com- 
pleted. The apostles can now enter upon the work to which 
they had been commissioned. 

3. The sermon of Peter next demands our attention. How 
quick is the response when all is ready. At once the voice of 
the inspired apostle sounds out the gospel message. Con- 
cerning this sermon of Peter’s we observe: (1) That he makes 


S 8 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


the startling events just witnessed the fulfillment of Joel’s 
prophecy ; (2) that he declares the death of Christ, and also 
his resurrection, asserting that the disciples were witnesses of 
that great fact ; (3) that he declares the resurrection of Christ 
to be the fulfillment of David’s prophecy recorded in Psa. xvi. 
10: “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt 
thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption (4) that the 
risen Lord had been exalted to the right hand of God, there to 
reign until his enemies were made his footstool. 

Notice how closely all this corresponds with Paul’s defini- 
tion of the gospel. Here, for the first time, the gospel in fact 
was preached. 

4. The results were as wonderful as they were gratifying. 
A multitude of those who heard this sermon “were pricked in 
their hearts, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles. 
Men and brethren, what shall we do ?” Peter at once pro- 
ceeds to use the key Christ had given into his hands, and 
opens the door of the kingdom by declaring the law of pardon. 
To the enquiring believers he said : “ Repent ye and be bap- 
tized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the 
remission of your sins ” — or, as the Revised Version has it, 
“ into the remission of your sins ” — “ and ye shall receive the 
gift of the Holy Spirit.” About three thousand yielded 
themselves in obedience to these commands, and thus became 
citizens of the kingdom. Now, for the first time, the kingdom 
exists as an actual fact. 

5. All the elements of the kingdom are present : (1) The 

King is seated upon his throne ; (2) the territory may be con- 
sidered as spiritual and consisting of the prepared hearts of 
the citizens of the kingdom. When the hearts of men every- 
where are turned to God through Christ, the whole world will 
be his. We may also consider the whole earth as Christ’s ter- 
ritory ; (3) the law of citizenship, as given by Christ in his 
commission, has been announced by the inspired apostle ; 


THE BEGINNING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 


89 


(4) three thousand persons have acted upon it, and have, 
consequently been introduced into the kingdom, and consti- 
tute its citizens. 

6. All other essential conditions of the kingdom are met. 
(1) The gospel, by which men are prepared for the kingdom, 
was preached. (2) The Holy Spirit which Christ promised, 
and which was to operate in establishing the kingdom of truth, 
through the inspired teachers, is present. This must have 
been something new and different from anything before en- 
joyed, since Christ declared that this coming could not take 
place, so long as he remained in person. (3) This is the 
right time for the setting up of the kingdom. It perfectly 
harmonizes the language of John and Christ, pointing forward 
to the coming kingdom, and with the language of the apostles 
uttered afterward, declaring its existence. It is the intermedi- 
ate point of time between the two. (4) It came at the right 
place. Micah had declared that “the law should go forth 
from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” The 
law of Moses was promulgated from Sinai, but it was God’s 
purpose that the new law should go forth from Jerusalem. 
Luke therefore said in recording the commission : “ Thus it is 
written and thus it behooved Christ to suffer to rise from the 
dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins 
should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at 
Jerusalem.” In the establishment of the kingdom these utter- 
ances are wondrously fulfilled. (5) The right man opened the 
door. Jesus had said to Peter : “ I will give unto thee the keys 
of the kingdom of heaven.” Peter is, accordingly, the one to 
introduce the first citizens. (6) The citizens were built on the 
right foundation. Paul said: “ Other foundation can no man 
lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus.” Here, for the first 
time, this foundation is actually laid as the basis of faith. Peter 
preached a crucified and risen Redeemer, and the people be- 
lieved on him. It was not a faith in dogmas, but trust in a person. 


90 


THE GEE A T SAL VA T10N. 


Conclusion : Having found the beginning of the kingdom, 
several advantages are gained : (i) We see just what it is 
necessary to preach in order to prepare men to enter it ; (2) 
we see what men did in becoming citizens of the kingdom ; 
(3) we also have brought before us the blessings which those 
who enter the kingdom enjoy, viz., remission of sins and the 
gift of the Holy Spirit. 

In view of all this, our duty becomes plain. It devolves 
upon us to assist to the utmost of our ability in enlarging the 
borders of this kingdom. Peter said in the close of his ser- 
mon : “ For to you is the promise and your children and to 
all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall 
call unto him.” 

We, standing nearly two millenniums this side of the be 
ginning of the kingdom, have heard this call. Let us catch it 
up and bear it forward until at last the prophetic vision shall 
be realized, when the knowledge of God shall cover the world 
as the waters the sea, and the kingdom shall extend from the 
river to the ends of earth. 


CHAPTER VI. 


FAITH. 

Introduction : i. Acceptance with God rests on two great 
pillars for support : (i) On the divine side it rests on mercy 
and grace. 4 ‘Not by works or righteousness, which we did 
ourselves, but according to his mercy he saved us.” “ For by 
grace are ye saved.” “ The grace of God that bringeth salva- 
tion hath appeared unto all men.” Everything that God has 
done is the outgrowth of his mercy. But while grace is the 
basis on the divine side, it nevertheless springs from an ade- 
quate cause. God’s favor proceeds from his love, therefore we 
read, * * God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten 
Son.” (2) On the human side, it rests on faith. The Scriptures 
make the cheering declaration that, ‘ ‘ In every nation, he that 
feareth God and worketh righteousness, is accepted of him.” 
We also read, “ Fear God and keep his commandments, for this 
is the whole duty of man. ” It therefore follows that man is com- 
petent to fear or reverence God and keep his commandments. 
A moment’s reflection, however, will convince any one that this 
is not fundamental. Before there can be fear or obedience, there 
must be something out of which both proceed. The Scripture 
clearly reveals what this is. We are told that, “ Without faith, 
it is impossible to please God.” Here we reach the bed-rock 
on the human side ; but as God’s favor is the outgrowth of his 
love, so here faith (Christian faith, or faith in Christ) proceeds 
from our love to God. Hence Jesus declared the first com- 
mandment to be, “ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind.” Here, 


92 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


then, we have man’s salvation resting on the two great pillars 
of divine grace and human faith, and all growing out of the 
great principle of love. On the one side, God’s love for man, 
and on the other, man’s love for God. 

2. The importance of faith at once looms up and seems to 
overshadow everything else pertaining to the human side of 
the question of salvation. To exaggerate its importance 
would be impossible; nor should we regard this as at all 
strange, since it is a principle of highest value in all affairs of 
the present life, (i) Business life, in all its multiplied activities, 
and diversified forms, has its basis in faith. Without faith, the 
wheels of commerce would be at once clogged. Destroy this 
principle, and the whole business fabric would totter to its down- 
fall. (2) Social life rests on faith. The family, the most blessed 
institution on earth, would be overthrown were it not for faith. 
(3) The state would fall in ruin were it not for faith. (4) The 
growth of science and literature would be at once checked* 
and education would become impossible, were it not for faith. 

These considerations make it apparent that faith is the 
grandest force that operates on society. It is the propelling 
force that moves mankind in its grandest marches and 
noblest achievements. 

3. It is, therefore, not an arbitrary decree of God that has 
made faith the basis of acceptable religious life. It is a neces- 
sary principle lying at the basis of all human action in what- 
ever domain it may be put forth. To assert that spiritual life 
and enjoyment result from faith, is to assert the necessary rela- 
tion of cause and effect. 

In our investigation of this subject, we will consider, — 

I. Some special applications and uses of the term “Faith.” 

By a sort of metonymy it is used to express, — 

1. The Christian system, or the body of testimony com- 
posed of the doctrines and precepts that make up the system. 


FAITH. 


93 


(i) In Acts xiii. 8, we read : “ Elymas the sorcerer sought to 
turn the deputy from the faith.” Acts xxiv. 24 : “ But after 
certain days Felix came with Drusilla his wife, which was a 
Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith 
in Christ Jesus.” (3) Galatians i. 23: “ He that once perse- 
cuted us now preacheth the faith of which he once made 
havoc.” (4) Galatians iii. 2: “Received ye the Spirit by the 
works of the law, or by the hearing of faith ?” (5) Galatians 

iii. 23 : “ But before faith came we were kept under the law.” 
(6) Philippians i. 27 : “I may hear of your state, that ye stand 
fast in one spirit, with one soul, striving for the faith of the gos- 
pel.” In these passages, as well as in many others that might 
be cited, the word “ faith ” is used in a very broad and compre- 
hensive sense. It is, however, an objective use of the word, 
the outward system of Christianity as a whole being designated. 

2. The precepts that are to be obeyed : (1) Romans i. 5 : 

“ By whom we received grace and apostleship unto obedience 
of faith.” (2) Romans xvi. 26: . . . “Is made known 

unto all nations unto obedience of faith.” (3) Hebrews xi. 4: 
< * By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice 
than Cain.” (4) Acts vi. 7 : . . . “A great company of 

priests were obedient to the faith.” 

Here the word is used in a more restricted sense, being 
taken to designate, instead of the whole, as in the foregoing, 
only a part. Obedience to the faith evidently means obedience 
to the precepts or commands of the gospel. 

3. That which results in godly life or activity, and hence, in 

some degree, involving the will power: Romans i. 8: “I 
thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith 
is proclaimed throughout the whole world.” (2) I. Thessalo- 
nians i. 3: “Remembering without ceasing your work of 
faith.” (3) II. Thessalonians i. 11 : . . . “ That our God 

may count you worthy of your calling and fulfill every desire 
of goodness and every work of faith with power.” 


94 


THE GEE A T SAL VA T10N. 


4. The confidence resulting from faith : (1) Matthew viii. 

10: “ Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, 
no not in Israel.” This expression was called forth from 
Christ by the fact that the centurion had confidence that Christ 
could heal his servant without even seeing him. (2) Matthew 
ix. 22 : “ Daughter, be of good cheer : thy faith hath made 
thee whole. ” The woman had such confidence that healing vir- 
tue resided in Christ that she said : “ If I do but touch his gar- 
ment, I shall be made whole.” (3) Mark ii. 5 : “ And Jesus, 
seeing their faith, saith unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy 
sins are forgiven thee.” The faith here spoken of was the 
confidence in the healing power of Jesus that prompted those 
who bore the man sick with the palsy to let him down through 
the roof of the house into the presence of Jesus. 

II. The nature of faith. 

1. As determined from the meaning of the word. The 
Greek word, “ pistis” translated “ faith” in the Scripture, is 
defined by Liddell and Scott to be “ trust in another, faith, 
especially faith or belief in a higher power. Generally per- 
suasion of a thing, confidence, assurance.” The verb from 
“ pisteuo” translated “ believe,” means “to trust or put 
faith in; to rely on a person or thing.” We must conclude 
from these classic definitions (1) that faith as respects 
facts or principles is simply a belief or persuasion that they 
are true ; (2) as respects persons, it is confidence or trust in 
them in such attitudes and relations as they are presented to us 
by the testimony given. 

2. As determined by its Scripture use. 

(a) It is confidence or assurance, and also foundation. In 
Hebrew xi. 1, we read: “Now faith is assurance of things 
hoped for, the proving [or conviction] of things not seen.” 
“ Hupostasis” here rendered “assurance,” means that which 
stands under or whereon anything rests. Taken objectively, 


FAITH. 


95 


it is the foundation of our hope, or of things hoped for ; sub- 
jectively, it is assurance or confidence. This is, however, 
born of the other, since the foundation gives confidence in that 
which is built on it. 

(b) It is conviction or persuasion, and also demonstration. 
In the foregoing passage “ Elegchos” translated “ proving or 
conviction,” means, in its objective sense, demonstration or 
proof ; subjectively, it means conviction or persuasion. Using 
these words in an objective sense, the passage would read, 
“ Faith is the foundation of things hoped for, the demonstra- 
tion of things not seen.” Using the subjective sense, the pas- 
sage reads, “ Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the 
conviction of things not seen.” Hence, faith subjectively is 
both assurance and conviction ; objectively, it is both founda- 
tion and demonstration. 

This subjective use of the term “faith” is illustrated in 
the example of Abraham’s faith given in Romans iv. 20, 21, 
“He [Abraham] wavered not through unbelief, but waxed 
strong through faith, giving glory to God, and being fully 
assured that what he [God] had promised, he was able also to 
perform.” He is called “strong through faith,” because he 
was “fully assured” that God would fulfill his promise. Evi- 
dently this is the same sense as that given to it in the passage 
from Hebrews quoted above ; that is to say, it is the ordinary 
subjective use of the word. 

It should be noted, in this connection, that faith in its vari- 
ous uses covers a very large field. It unlocks the door of the 
past and pulls aside the curtain of the future. The knowl- 
edge, therefore, that it gives us is much wider than that which 
comes through the physical senses, and herein man is lifted 
infinitely above the plane of the animal. If we were confined 
in our knowledge to the evidence furnished by these senses, our 
field would be very much circumscribed. The natural eye and 
ear can know but a small world. Aided by the microscope 


96 


THE GREA T SAL VA T10JV. 


and telescope, we may have a larger world, but still it is very 
limited, but by the eye of faith, we can lay hold of that which 
we have never seen, and can never see with the eye of sense, 
and thus dwell amidst the beauties that never fade. Hence, 
says Paul, “Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither hath it 
entered into the heart of man to conceive the things that God 
has prepared for them that love him.” Holland says, “For a 
great man, a thousand minds are thinking and a thousand 
hands are working.” But this is because we are enabled by 
faith to appropriate the experience of others and incorporate 
their lives into our own. Thus the realities of the past, as 
stored up on the pages of history, become ours, and the 
possibilities of the future are placed within our grasp. Even 
the curtain that separates us from the most holy place is drawn 
aside, and we are permitted to see the invisible realities of the 
spiritual universe, and to dwell by faith in the presence of 
God. Here, in fact, is the highest function of faith. 

The highest faith is a conviction of the existence of a home 
of the soul beyond the vail of the flesh, an assurance of the 
reality of an unseen spiritual world. The faith that appre- 
hends these things becomes the foundation of Christian char- 
acter and the fountain of Christian enjoyment. 

(c) It lays hold of the heart. 

Paul declares (Rom. x. io) : “ With the heart man believ- 
eth unto righteousness.” There is no more important utter- 
ance pertaining to this subject than this. The word “ Kardia ,” 
translated “heart,” in its primary signification, means the 
heart as the seat of life. Metaphorically it means the heart 
as the seat of feeling, passion, or impulse. In other words, it 
means the desires, affections, emotions. Had Paul wished to 
convey the idea that faith or belief was a purely intellectual 
process, there was a word at his command that he could have 
used that would have made his meaning clear. Had he said, 
With the mind (“Noos”) man believeth unto righteousness, we 


FAITH. 


97 


would have understood that the belief referred to was purely 
intellectual. I am aware that “ Kardia ” is used as a synonym 
of “Noos,” yet it means more than simple intellectual belief. 
It means affection or feeling as the result of the intellectual 
process, or as growing out of it. Hence it is possible for a 
man to believe with the mind (“Noos”), and yet not believe 
with the heart (“Kardia”). As a matter of fact, these two 
kinds of belief are very wide apart : (i) One is active, the 
other is passive. For illustration: Two young men may listen 
to a witness in whom they have confidence, bear testimony 
concerning the legal profession. He may tell them about the 
preparation needed, the nature of the work, the emoluments 
offered, and the opportunities for good afforded. Both believe 
all he says ; one becomes a lawyer, the other does not. Why 
this difference in the result ? The foregoing distinction fully 
explains the reason. One believed intellectually, with the 
mind (“Noos”), the other believed emotionally, desiringly, 
lovingly, with the heart (“ Kardia ”). 

If I mistake not, in this distinction is found the reason why 
God’s approbation or condemnation can be predicated on faith. 
Purely intellectual faith is often not a ground of merit, nor is 
the lack of it a demerit. Sometimes such faith is absolutely 
necessary. The individual can not avoid it. The testimony 
may be so strong as to compel faith, and when this is the case 
there is no merit in believing. I believe that there is such a 
country as Africa, and that it has many millions of inhabitants, 
but I deserve no praise for such faith. It is a necessity. The 
testimony is such as to forbid disbelief. On the other hand, 
disbelief may not be censurable. If the testimony is inade- 
quate, faith is an impossibility. I may not believe that 
Jupiter is inhabited, simply because the testimony is insuffi- 
cient to necessitate faith, and if this be the case, I can not be 
censured for unbelief. There is, however, a faith that can be 
justly made a ground of approval, and its lack may be a 


THE GEE AT SALVATION . 


ground of condemnation, and that is the faith of which Paul 
speaks, when he says: “ With the heart man believeth unto 
righteousness. ” This faith is not a necessity. As to whether 
belief takes hold of the heart depends on the man. If my 
faith concerning Africa and its people should so take hold of my 
heart as to prompt me to give my life for the salvation of the 
dark continent, it might be regarded by God as a ground of 
approval. If I do not allow my belief concerning Africa and 
its people to so touch my heart or emotions so as to prompt 
me to do my duty in the premises, I may be condemned for 
my unbelief. 

True, there may be a certain amount of merit in intellect- 
ual faith. A man may deserve some approval for opening his 
ears to testimony ; for opening his eyes to light ; but when 
once the testimony comes, if it be adequate, he deserves no 
praise for believing it, since he can not do otherwise ; nor if it 
be inadequate does he deserve blame for disbelieving, since he 
can not believe. But when once he believes intellectually, he 
can be praised or censured for the belief or disbelief of the 
heart, since this is a matter under his control. 

I believe it perfectly safe to say that nine-tenths of the 
infidelity of the world to-day, is infidelity of the heart. Many 
people suppose that unbelief is purely intellectual, but my 
observation convinces me that it is a disease of the heart, and 
not of the head, in most cases. Some are not believers 
because of their pride ; some because of an intellectual vanity ; 
some because of worldly interests ; some because of passions 
or pleasures with which they think faith would interfere ; all 
of which means that most of the infidelity has its seat in the 
emotions, or affections, or feelings. Hence, Paul says : 
“With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” Cer- 
tainly this must be true. Righteousness can never result in 
any other way. This is perfectly harmonious with a great and 
universal principle. All true action springs from the heart. 


FAITH. 


99 


With the heart man believes unto the practice of medicine ; 
unto the practice of law ; unto the work of the ministry ; unto 
every kind of business life ; unto every form of Christian 
activity. Hence, says Jesus: “ He that believeth and is bap- 
tized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be 
damned.” The philosophy of this utterance is hence very 
apparent. Faith that is merely an intellectual exercise pro- 
ceeding from indubitable testimony, which does not affect any 
interest, nor call for action, can have no moral quality, but 
when I am called upon to believe something that is of per- 
sonal application, and which would completely change my life, 
were I to accept it, then it becomes, not simply a matter of 
the intellect, but a question of the heart. Here is something 
that reaches the emotions or feelings. It may cause me joy or 
sorrow, according to its nature. It may require me to surren- 
der selfish plans and hopes, yet if I heroically allow the 
testimony to have its force and work out its necessary conse- 
quences, I believe with my heart. This is an act of faith that 
God can approve. This is the faith of Jesus. It is radical in 
its nature and effects. It allows no temporizing or compromise. 
It demands the whole space of the human heart, and will 
not share this kingdom with any rival power. All selfishness 
must be cast out. It calls for consecration to the highest, 
purest service. It consequently demands crucifixion of self. 
Hence, says Christ: “ If a man would be a disciple, let him 
deny himself and take up his cross and follow me daily.” 
When, in the face of all this, we permit the faith of Jesus 
to control us, we have God’s approval ; but if we refuse to 
allow this faith to become the controlling force of our lives, 
the condemnation of God is upon us ; nay, more, we con- 
demn ourselves by assassinating our convictions of right, and 
proving ourselves to be traitors to the truth. In other words, 
damnation is married to unbelief, as effect is married to 


cause. 


100 


THE GREA T SAL VA T/ON. 


(d) It results in action. 

This follows from what has been already said concerning 
faith of the heart, but there is no lack of Scripture testimony 
bearing on this point, (i) Acts viii. 12: ‘‘But when they 
believed Philip preaching good tidings concerning the kingdom 
of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, 
both men and women.” (2) Rom. xvi. 25, 26: “Now to 
him that is able to establish you according to my gospel and 
the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of 
the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times 
eternal, but now is manifested, and by the scriptures of the 
prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, 
is made known unto all nations unto obedience of faith ; to 
the only wise God through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory 
forever/’ According to this passage, faith ought to eventu- 
ate in obedience, and we see that it did in the case of those 
who believed Philip’s preaching. The commission of Christ 
is perfectly harmonious with this. (3) James emphasizes 
the same thought. “What doth it profit if a man say he 
hath faith but have not works ? can that faith save him ? . . . 
Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. Yea, 
a man will say, Thou hast faith and I have works ; show me 
thy faith apart from thy works, and I, by my works, will show 
thee my faith. . . . But wilt thou know, O vain man, that 
faith apart from works is barren” (Jas. ii. 14, 17, 18, 20). 

(< e ) It is personal in its object. 

The necessity for this becomes apparent the moment we 
recognize the fact that character is built up through the prin- 
ciple of imitation. Man is by nature an imitative being. 
This propensity manifests itself in early childhood, and is 
never lost. We become what we are, not by means of certain 
abstract principles held in the mind, but by copying the con- 
crete embodiment of those principles. By faith, therefore, 
we are transformed into the likeness of that in which we trust. 


FAITH, 


101 


It is, therefore, very important that we should have the proper 
object of faith set before us, and it is fortunate for us that the 
Scriptures are very clear on this point, (i) Paul said to the 
jailer: ‘‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, 
thou and thy house” (Acts xvi. 31). (2) Peter said, when 

preaching to Cornelius and his household: “To him bear all 
the prophets witness, that through his name every one that be- 
lieveth on him [Christ] shall receive remission of sins ” (Acts 
x. 43)* (3) Jesus himself said: “For God so loved the world 

that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on 
him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John iii. 16). 

This faith in the personal Christ involves a belief in his 
threefold office. (1) God said: “This is my beloved Son, in 
whom I am well pleased; hear ye him ” (Matt. iii. 17). Here 
the office of prophet or teacher is set forth. (2) That Christ 
was a priest is also clearly taught. Paul declares we have “ a 
hope both sure and steadfast and entering into that within the 
veil, whither, as a forerunner, Jesus entered for us, having 
become a high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. ” 
Also he says: “And what we say is yet more abundantly 
evident, if after the likeness of Melchisedec there arises another 
priest who hath been made, not after the law of a carnal com- 
mandment, but after the power of an endless life, for it is wit- 
nessed of him, ‘Thou art a priest forever after the order of 
Melchisedec * ” (Heb. vi. 19, 20; vii. 15-17). (3) The king- 

ship of Jesus is also declared. Paul charged Timothy to 
“keep the commandment, without spot, without reproach, 
until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ; which in its own 
times he shall show, who is blessed and only potentate, the 
King of kings, and Lord of lords” (I. Tim. vi. 14, 15). 
Hence it follows that faith in Jesus demands our acceptance 
of him in the threefold relation of Prophet, Priest, and King, 
and in this threefold function he meets every fundamental 
human need. 


102 


THE GEE A T SAL VA TION. 


The object of our faith, therefore, is the Son of God in his 
official relations to humanity. It is personal, and not doctrinal. 
It is an affectionate trust in one who, in his own person, em- 
bodies every perfection, and is therefore a perfect model, and 
who has infinite resources at his command, and, therefore, can 
meet our every want. Hence, says Paul: “Who was made 
unto us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification 
and redemption, that according as it is written, He that glori- 
eth, let him glory in the Lord " (I. Cor. i. 30, 31). Well has 
he been called both Son of man and Son of God. As Son of 
man, he is a perfect pattern for humanity and the brother of 
the race. As Son of God, he is “Captain of our salvation " 
and “Lord over all. ’ ' As Son of man, he died as man must 
die; but as Son of God, “behold he is alive for evermore/' 
and his voice will call forth the sleeping millions from the dust 
of the earth. He died for our sins and rose again for our justi- 
fication, and “he has the keys of death and of Hades." 
“ Though he was a son, yet learned he obedience by the things 
which he suffered, and having been made perfect, he became 
unto all them that obey him the author of eternal salvation." 
Peter, in his Pentecostal sermon, declared that Christ, ‘ ‘ being 
therefore by the right hand of God exalted, having received of 
the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured 
forth this [the manifestation of the Holy Spirit] which ye see 
and hear. . . . Let all of the house of Israel therefore 

know assuredly that God hath made him both Lord and 
Christ," and Paul declares: “He must reign till he hath put 
all enemies under his feet." Therefore, holding in his hand 
the scepter of the universe, “ He is able to save unto the ut- 
termost them that draw near unto God through him." 

How restful is such a faith ! What a sense of security 
does such a trust convey! It is, indeed, a serious, solemn 
thing to put one’s self — life, character, and destiny — into the 
keeping of another, both for time and eternity. To warrant 


FAITH. 


103 


such an act, the one to whom the soul is committed must be 
more than man — yea, he must be God ; and therefore the divin- 
ity of Christ is the only rational ground of faith. Hence says 
Jesus : I came forth and am come from God ; for neither have 
I come of myself, but he sent me.” This being true, there is 
no grander, sublimer act the soul can perform than to commit 
itself to his keeping. 

The Christian faith is, therefore, very simple. Trust in a 
Divine Person who has furnished the most ample grounds of 
confidence and acceptance of him as the sovereign of the soul, 
is entirely within the possibilities of the humblest individual. 
Some stay away from Christ because of their failure to com- 
prehend certain theological doctrines. It is a lamentable thing 
that theological tenets have been made tests of faith, and it is 
a still more lamentable thing that souls have been driven away 
from their Saviour by these speculative theological dogmas. 

When will men learn that the faith that saves is not the 
belief of dogmas? When will the world realize that a man 
may fail to comprehend the doctrines of original sin, predes- 
tination, foreknowledge, the trinity, the incarnation, and many 
other things too deep to be measured by the human mind, and 
still be saved by a simple, personal trust in the * ‘ Lamb of God 
that taketh away the sin of the world ” ? Listen to the voice 
of Paul to the Philippian jailer, “ Believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and thou shalt be saved,” and know that these words 
apply to you. Are you ready to hear these words and accept 
them in all their divine simplicity ? 

III. How is faith produced ? 

i. It is often a waste of time for a man to concern himself 
with questions of “how.” The “how” of things is often 
entirely beyond human comprehension. In fact, this is usually 
the case with things that belong entirely to God. We do not 
know how the plant grows, nor how mind is married to matter, 


104 


THE GEE A T SAL VA TION. 


as in the case of man. God is doing things in nature all 
around us that we do not understand. We see processes and 
phenomena, and name them, but we do not understand them. 
However, when we come to the human side of things, we find 
much less of mystery, and especially is this true when we 
come into the field of human duty and activity. God has 
taken care that man may know how to do whatever he is 
required to do. 

It follows, therefore, that faith is produced by a process 
that can be comprehended, since it is a duty enjoined upon 
man. Faith being a command of God, man can certainly obey 
it, and if so, he can know how to obey it. It must certainly 
be produced by a process or in a manner that man can com- 
prehend, or God would not demand it and make it a condition 
of salvation. 

It is, however, a strange fact that some minds find a peculiar 
fascination in that which is mysterious or incomprehensible. 
The more religion is mystified the more some are attached 
to it, and anything that is plain and simple is, for that 
very reason, to be rejected. Such persons, when they come 
to the Bible, suppose they are entering a region of fogs and 
mists. The Word of God is to such not a revelation, but a 
mystery that is not man’s privilege to try to understand or 
comprehend. How inconsistent is this with the oft-repeated 
injunctions of the sacred writers, “ to think,” “consider ,’ 5 
“hear with the ears,” “see with the eyes,” “understand 
with the heart.” 

The fact is, the gospel of Christ proceeds on clearly defined 
and necessary principles. It recognizes the laws of the human 
understanding in addressing man. 

2. We consequently conclude that faith is produced in har- 
mony with the constitution of the human mind. In its coming 
it does not violate the necessary laws of human thought. To 
understand the process by which faith is produced, we have. 


FAITH. 


105 


therefore, but to study the necessary conditions of faith as it 
deals with the affairs of every-day life. Take, for example, 
faith in any historic character, as, for instance, Julius Caesar. 
How is such faith produced ? What does the mind constitu- 
tionally demand in order to such faith ? Evidently testimony 
on the subject that is convincing. No one ever believed in 
any historic character except on testimony. True, the testi- 
mony that produces faith in one person, may fail to produce 
faith in another, but in every case the faith rests on testimony. 
An important distinction should be carefully noted in this con- 
nection. The Christian faith is not belief in something about 
Jesus, as we would believe the facts about Julius Caesar upon 
testimony, but it is trust in Jesus. It is the faith of the heart. 
How is this produced ? I answer, How is trust in anyone pro- 
duced ? How am I led to believe in or trust a physician so 
I will put my life into his hands ? Evidently I must have tes- 
timony of such a nature as to beget in me confidence in the 
man. Then will I trust him. Whether I believe something 
about a man, or believe in a man, my faith must rest on testi- 
mony of convincing character. I have never seen San Fran- 
cisco. How can my faith in the existence of such a city be 
established ? Evidently by testimony. How can I be led to 
remove to that city and trust it for a home ? Evidently in the 
same way, by some form of testimony. How can I be led to 
believe that such a person as Jesus of Nazareth lived, worked, 
taught, died, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven ? 
Evidently on testimony. How can I be led to trust him for 
salvation? Certainly in the same way. If I realize that I am 
afflicted with the moral malady of sin, for which man can offer 
no cure, and become convinced, upon adequate testimony, that 
he is the Great Physician, both able and willing to save, I will 
trust him for salvation. 

Why do I believe that there is such a place as heaven ? 
Because I have testimony that is convincing. If the testimony 


106 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


satisfies me that it is a desirable place, and attainable by me, I 
will endeavor to reach it. 

We are now ready to draw a clear line of distinction 
between faith and opinion. Faith rests on adequate, or clear 
and convincing testimony. Opinion results from inadequate 
evidence, or from testimony not well understood. I may have 
an opinion that there is a populous city in the heart of Africa, 
based on testimony not well authenticated, or resulting from a 
course of hypothetical or probable reasoning. I believe that 
there is such a city as London, because I have ample testimony 
that can not be doubted. This distinction is very vital, 
because not only has the simple faith in Christ been displaced 
by faith in theological dogmas, but even opinions have been 
exalted to the domain of faith, and frequently have been made 
tests of fellowship. 

3. The direct utterances of the Scriptures very clearly indi- 
cate how faith is produced, and it will be seen that the teaching 
is entirely harmonious with the logical and constitutional 
demands of the mind: (1) John v. 46, 47: “ For if ye 

believed Moses, ye would believe me, for he wrote of me. 
But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my 
words?” (2) John xx. 30, 31 : “ Many other signs therefore 
did Jesus in the presence of the disciples that are not written 
in this book, but these are written that ye may believe that 
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that, believing, ye 
may have life in his name.” (3) Romans x. 14: “How 
then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed ? 
and how shall they believe on him of whom they have not 
heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” (4) 
Acts xv. 7 : “ Peter rose up and said to them, Men and brethren, 
ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among 
us that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the 
gospel and believe.” These passages, as well as many others 
that might be introduced, make it perfectly clear that the 


FAITH. 


107 


Christian faith, like all other faith, must rest on testimony ; 
but if a single doubt be still entertained, surely the language 
of Paul, in Romans x. 1 6, 17, will remove it. (5) “ But they 
did not all hearken to the glad tidings. For Isaiah saith, 
Lord, who hath believed our report ? So belief cometh of 
hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. ” There is no rising 
up against such words as these. Faith results from testimony. 
It “comes by hearing.” This is both the voice of reason and 
the voice of inspiration. 

4. It should, however, be borne in mind that faith is the 
gift of God. God has given us the true object of faith in the 
gift of his Son. He has made the human mind capable of 
believing. He has furnished us with ample testimony as a 
basis for our faith ; consequently, when we give attention to 
the testimony and are led to believe, the faith, in a very real 
and important sense, may be said to be the gift of God. 

It is unfortunate that the very plain and simple matter 
should have been obscured by the teaching that faith is an im- 
mediate and direct gift of God. Sinners are sometimes taught 
that no one can possess faith until God directly bestows it, and 
they are exhorted to pray for it and to continue their seeking 
and supplication till it shall please God to give it. There is a 
logical difficulty in the way of such teaching, that it is hard to 
see how any one could have overlooked. We are told that, 
“Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” Prayer, to 
be efficacious with God, must be an act of faith. Then how is 
the sinner to begin ? He can not pray without faith, and if he 
have faith, then why pray for it? Paul (Romans x. 14) states 
the case very strongly : “ How shall they call on him in whom 
they have not believed ?” The conclusion is inevitable that, 
if faith is a direct gift of God, the sinner can do nothing but 
wait atheistically and prayerlessly until it please God to bestow 
it. But you ask, Is it not proper to pray for faith ? Cer- 
tainly, having faith in God, pray for faith — that is, for more 


108 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


faith — just as you would pray for daily bread. When we say, 
“ Give us this day our daily bread,” we do not expect God to 
give it to us immediately, but through the means and channels 
he has ordained. So, when we pray for an increase of faith, we 
simply ask God to grant it in harmony with his ordained means 
and in accordance with the constitution of the human mind. 

To support the doctrine that faith is a direct gift of God, 
Paul’s language in Eph. ii. 8, 9, is often used: “ For by grace 
have ye been saved, through faith ; and that not of yourselves : 
it is the gift of God.” There are, however, at least two diffi- 
culties standing in the way of such a use of this passage : (1) 
If Paul meant that faith is the gift of God, it does not follow 
that it is an immediate gift to be bestowed by God directly in 
answer to prayer. On the contrary, the passage ought to be 
interpreted in harmony with other clear and explicit teaching on 
this subject, which represents faith as coming mediately, that 
is, by hearing. A gift is no less a gift because bestowed 
on necessary and plainly expressed conditions. (2) There is, 
moreover, a grammatical reason for rejecting this interpretation. 
“By grace have ye been saved, through faith [“ pistis ” a fem- 
inine noun] ; and that [“ touto ,” a neuter pronoun] not of your- 
selves : the gift of God. ” The clause, “it is, ” is supplied ; that 
is, these words are not original. Here “touto,” a neuter 
pronoun, can not stand for the feminine “pistis ” but it has the 
whole sentence for its antecedent. Hence, it is the salvation 
spoken of in the sentence that is not of ourselves, and the last 
clause, “the gift of God,” is in apposition with this, and, 
therefore, it is the salvation that is declared to be God’s gift, 
and not faith. This exegesis is sustained by the best com- 
mentators, and it may be regarded as the true sense of the 
passage beyond the possibility of a doubt. 

We are hence led to conclude that common sense, the logi- 
cal necessities of the case, and the Word of God agree in 
declaring that “ faith comes by hearing.” 


FAITH. 


109 


IV. The benefits of faith. 

1. It secures salvation by laying hold of him who is the 
Author of eternal salvation,” and besides whom there is no 

other Saviour, for God has “ given him a name that is above 
every name,” and we are expressly told that 4 4 there is none 
other name under heaven given among men whereby we must 
be saved.” 

2. It is the mainspring of all right action. From within, 
out of the heart, are the issues of life; therefore, says James, 
“ By works is faith made perfect.” In other words, the com- 
plete sphere of life is made up of the two hemispheres of faith 
and works. 

3. It purifies the heart. Peter says (Acts xv. 9): “And 
he [God] made no distinction between us [Jews] and them 
[Gentiles], cleansing their hearts by faith.” This is perfectly 
consistent with reason, and harmonious with all observation 
and experience. 

Since character is built upon the principle of imitation, 
faith in a pure person who becomes our model must necessar- 
ily lead to purity of life. How often is this exemplified in the 
experiences of men. Many a man has had his heart made 
purer and his life made better by his faith in a pure man or 
pure woman. Much more, then, will faith in the immaculate 
Son of God purify the heart. 

4. It sanctifies all our actions and broadens our sympathies 
by imbuing our lives with the spirit of love. Paul says : 
“For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision availeth anything, 
nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love ” (Gal. v. 
6). Too long have the sympathies of men been bounded by 
the lines that divide the world into races, nations, castes, and 
classes. Too long have men continued to regard the merely 
accidental circumstances attaching to men the matters of chief- 
est moment. Surely the time has come when man’s patent 
to nobility should consist in something intrinsic, and not 


110 


THE GEE A T SAL VA TION. 


merely in the accidental. Paul tells us how this much-to-be- 
coveted end is to be reached: “In Christ Jesus, neither cir- 
cumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision.” No longer 
are questions of race, nationality or caste to be the great ques- 
tions, “but faith working by love” will overleap all barriers 
and bind this great humanity into a common brotherhood. 
This is the legitimate result of the Christian faith. Faith in 
Jesus Christ, our Elder Brother, is destined to bind all men in 
a loving, sympathetic brotherhood : 

“ When each can feel his brother’s sigh, 

And with him bear a part. 

When sorrow flows from eye to eye, 

And joy from heart to heart.” 

Then our sympathy, our love, our efforts for all men will 
not be determined by nationality, or color of skin, or family, 
or riches, or position, or any accidental circumstance, but there 
will be but one great thing on earth worthy of our love, and 
that is man. 

Therefore, “in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision availeth 
anything, nor uncircumcision.” These accidents are unim- 
portant as controlling forces, “ but faith working by love ” will 
be the motive power propelling us forward and leading to 
noble, unselfish lives on the broad plain of a common hu- 
manity. 


CHAPTER VII. 


REPENTANCE. 

Introduction: i. The great purpose of the gospel can not 
be understood without a consideration of the problem with 
which it has to deal. 

The Sacred Scriptures and human consciousness unite in 
bearing testimony to the awful fact of sin. God’s Word as- 
sumes its existence and proceeds to deal with it as a serious, 
but not necessarily fatal, malady. Men may not stop to analyze 
or explain it, yet no right-minded man calls in question 
the awful reality. All feel and see that there is both good 
and bad, righteousness and unrighteousness, vice and vir- 
tue, right and wrong. This question is, however, by no 
means simple. It involves many difficult and perplexing prob- 
lems. To understand it we must bear in mind the following 
points : 

(1) As to its nature : It is rebellion against God. 

(2) As to its source : It proceeds out of the heart. 

(3) As to its practice : It determines the course or habit 
of life. 

(4) As to its effects upon the individual : It is polluting 
and debasing. 

(5) As to the conditions it superinduces : It involves guilt. 

(6) As to its merit : It calls for condemnation by self, man, 
and God. 

(7) As to its wages: It involves death. 

It is the great purpose of the gospel to save man from sin. 
In accomplishing this it must purify the heart, change the life 


112 


THE GREA T S ALVA T10N. 


or practice, cleanse the guilt, destroy the effects, remove the 
condemnation, and thus determine the destiny. 

2. Salvation is, therefore, not an exercise of arbitrary 
power. If God, in the exercise of his omnipotent power, 
should transport the sinner from earth to heaven, it would not 
save him. Mere change of place is not salvation. Many 
speak of going to heaven as if it was merely a question of 
changing location. This is a great mistake. Salvation in- 
volves a change far more radical. To put the sinner, cor- 
rupt in heart and life, into a heaven of infinite purity, would 
be to plunge him into torments intolerable. 

The salvation of man begins in the heart. The evil, sin- 
ful, corrupt heart must be purified, and this can not be accom- 
plished by a direct and arbitrary act of God’s power. To do 
so would be to override and destroy the principles of man’s 
intellectual and moral nature. If the heart is changed, it must 
be done in harmony with the constitutional requirements of 
man’s soul. It must proceed in harmony with psychological 
principles. Therefore, to change the heart, the sinner must 
be enlightened and persuaded. He must be influenced by 
motives, and not changed by an arbitrary act of omnipotence. 
Salvation also involves man’s life of outward action. This 
must be changed, but this can not be done by any arbitrary 
act of power. Action that is not voluntary and free has no 
moral quality. 

These considerations lead us to the conclusion that, — 

3. The system of salvation is a system of means adapted 
to ends. Is the heart to be changed, the plan of salvation 
provides the means of accomplishing this without overriding 
or destroying the principles of man’s moral or intellectual 
being. Is the life to be changed, the gospel provides means 
adapted to the end to be accomplished, and when the change 
is effected, the new and correct life must be just as voluntary 
and free as was the old life of sin. In short, the saved man 


REPENTANCE. 


113 


must do right from choice, just as freely as the unsaved man 
did wrong from choice. 

I. With these considerations before us, we are in some 
measure prepared to understand the great importance of repent- 
ance. 

1. It is not an act that God has enjoined arbitrarily, al- 
though, if this were the case, its importance could not be 
overestimated. It is well for us to know that when God com- 
mands, then there is, t or should be, an end of all controversy. 
Only one thing is proper in such a case, and that is obedience. 
But when God’s command is based on a necessary and discov- 
erable law of our being, the reason for obedience is, if possible, 
even stronger. This is the case with repentance. It is a 
means to an end. It is related to its consequents as cause to 
effect. It is commanded because it is demanded. It is 
adapted in its nature to produce a certain definite effect. Just 
as faith in Jesus Christ, a being of infinite purity, is the 
divinely-appointed means for changing or purifying the heart, 
so repentance is God’s appointed means for changing the life 
of outward action. It is divinely appointed because necessary. 
It is, therefore, both logical and psychological. 

2. It consequently follows that repentance is not something 
that can be placed here and there, first one place and then 
another, and, consequently, at no place in particular. It is 
an antecedent and also a consequent. Since it is God’s means 
of changing or purifying life, it must precede the changed 
life. But, logically, action has its mainspring within. It must 
come out of the heart. Actions or professions that do not 
come out of the heart are hypocritical. Therefore the changed 
life must be preceded by the changed heart, and since repent- 
ance is necessary to produce the changed life, it must come in 
between the changed heart and changed life. But we have 
seen that faith is the antecedent of a changed heart, therefore 


114 


THE GEE AT SALVATION. 


repentance must follow faith and precede a changed life. This 
is both the logical and psychological order, and we shall pres- 
ently see that it is the Scriptural order, and that it has another 
antecedent besides faith. 

3. We are now prepared to see why God “ commands all 
men everywhere to repent”; why it is said, “ Unless ye repent 
ye shall all likewise perish”; why, '‘There is more joy in 
heaven over one sinner that repenteth than over ninety and 
nine just persons that need no forgiveness.” It is because 
repentance is the divinely appointed and fl necessary means of 
changing life. 

II. Understanding its purpose and place in the system of 
salvation, we are now prepared to grasp its meaning. 

1. The distinction between faith and repentance is neces- 
sary and should be clearly apprehended. There is a sense, as we 
have seen in the previous chapter, in which faith includes the 
whole plan of salvation. Not only its facts, but its commands 
and its promises. Repentance is necessarily embraced in this. 
Paul “preached the faith which once he destroyed.” Of 
course, his preaching included repentance. In a narrow and 
specific sense, however, faith is very different from repentance. 
As a term, it represents a very different psychological process 
or act. In its specific sense, it is expressive rather of rest 
than of action. True, it must be followed by action. It must 
lead to action ; but faith, in its narrow specific sense, is not 
action. It is trust or confidence. Between faith and action, 
there is another psychological act or process that serves as the 
connecting link between the two, but necessarily distinct from 
both. 

2. It must not be confounded with sorrow. Paul affirms 
that “godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be 
repented of.” Again he says: “Now I rejoice, not that ye 
were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance.” 


REPENTANCE. 


115 


Here, then, we see that repentance has another antecedent 
besides faith, or, to say the least, it may have. It is perfectly 
clear that the sacred writer in these passages clearly discrim- 
inates between sorrow and repentance, making the former the 
cause of the latter. 

3. It is also something distinct from reformation. In Matt, 
iii. 8 we read the following language uttered by John the 
Baptist : ‘ ‘ Bring forth, therefore, fruit worthy of repentance. ” 
This fruit can refer to nothing else than the external life of 
action. In other words, it is reformation. The passage evi- 
dently means: “ Produce a reformation of life worthy of your 
repentance.” Peter, in the sermon which he preached on the 
porch of the temple, which we find recorded in the third 
chapter of Acts, said : “ Repent ye therefore, and turn again, 
that your sins may be blotted out.” This evidently means to 
turn to God in some act or acts of obedience. In both these 
passages we see that the consequent of repentance is action or 
reformation. 

4. Having thus clearly pointed out to us the antecedents 
and consequents of repentance, we are enabled to definitely 
determine exactly what is meant by the term. The items 
evidently stand in the following order: (1) We first have 
“faith” which comes by hearing, and without which it is 
impossible to please God. This we have found to be funda- 
mental on the human side. (2) Next comes sorrow. How 
entirely logical is this. Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
we accept his teaching concerning sin and righteousness. In 
the light of his teaching and life, we are led to hate sin and 
love righteousness. The first result of such a faith as this is 
to produce sorrow for sin. (3) Next comes repentance. (4) 
This is followed by a turning to God. (5) This turning is 
followed by a reformed life, or works worthy of repentance. 
What can be the meaning of repentance in the light of these 
facts ? Evidently but one thing, and that is a change of mind 


116 


THE GREA T S ALVA TJON. 


or purpose. We believe on Jesus, the infinitely pure and holy 
One. This produces as its fruit sorrow for sin. This leads us 
to change our mind or purpose, and determine to give up a 
life of sin and lead a life of holiness, modeled after the life of 
Him in whom we have believed. This is called repentance, 
and it is followed by a turning to God in overt act, which is 
but carrying out of the resolution involved in repentance, and 
this results in fruits, or a reformed life. This must, of neces- 
sity, be the order of things. Any other order disregards the 
necessary sequence of belief, feeling, resolution, action. 

Two things, however, should be clearly noted at this point : 
(i) A man may have sorrow for sin who never repents. 
While repentance must follow sorrow, yet the process may be 
arrested before the repentance or change of mind is reached. 
A drunkard may be sorry for his life of sin, and yet never 
repent or change his mind with respect to his life of dissipa- 
tion. (2) There may, in a certain way, be a reformation, so 
far as outward acts are concerned, when there has been no 
repentance. Circumstances may lead a man to change his 
actions when there has been no true change of mind with 
respect to the sinful life. The actions outwardly may be 
changed from expediency, or from some other motive, when 
there has been no sorrow for sin leading to a change of mind 
respecting it, and no real turning to God. 

5. The meaning of the original word harmonizes perfectly 
with this view. The Greek word translated “ repentance,” is 
“ Metanoia." The verb form is “ Metanoeo” This is a com- 
pound word made up of the preposition, “Meta,” which 
means, “after” or “next,” and “ Noeo ,” “to perceive.” 
“ Metanoeo” therefore, literally means “to perceive after- 
ward,” or to come to conviction afterward, or after reflection, 
and hence it means to change one’s mind or purpose, an 
afterthought, or a change of mind after reflection. This is 
the meaning we discovered it must have as determined by its 


REPENTANCE. 


117 


antecedents and consequents. We hence see that the meaning 
of the word, as determined by its etymology, exactly fits the 
place that the Scripture gives to it. It is change of mind, and 
this is produced by sorrow for sin, and sorrow for sin results 
from faith. It is properly followed by some act indicative of 
the change of mind, and the result is, changed life, or “ fruits 
worthy of repentance.” 

The logical simplicity harmonizing with the psychological 
necessity, invests the Scriptural presentation with a most 
charming attractiveness. 

6. This explanation is in perfect accord with the Scripture 
examples of repentance. 

(a) In Matthew xii. 41, we have these words of Christ 
recorded: “The men of Nineveh shall stand up in judgment 
with this generation and shall condemn it, for they repented 
[“ Metenoesan ”] at the preaching of Jonah, and behold a 
greater than Jonah is here.” The history of the case will 
enable us to determine just what the Ninevites did which 
Christ designated by the phrase, “They repented.” 

(1) They were an exceedingly wicked people, and God 
sent Jonah to them to say, “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall 
surely be destroyed.” 

(2) Jonah tried to run away from the work that God 
appointed him to do, but after his remarkable experience, he 
fulfilled his commission by declaring God’s message to the 
Ninevites. 

(3) The Ninevites believed what Jonah preached. Their 
faith came by hearing Jonah’s message. 

(4) The record says (Jonah iii. 5): “So the people of 
Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast and put on the 
sack-cloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of 
them.” Even the king covered himself with sack-cloth and 
sat in ashes. He proclaimed a fast both for man and 
beast. 


118 


THE GEE A T SAL VA TION. 


(5) This resulted in change of mind or put-pose in the king 
and people concerning the life they had been living. The 
king said (Jonah iii. 8): “But let man and beast be covered 
with sack-cloth, and cry mightily unto God ; yea, let them 
turn every one from his evil way and from the violence that is 
in their hands.” The people did this, for in verse ten we read : 
‘ ‘ And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil 
way.” Here the repentance was the change of purpose result- 
ing from sorrow produced by the faith begotten by Jonah’s 
preaching, and it led to a changed life. 

(b) In the parable of the “ Prodigal Son ” we have a clear 
case of repentance outlined by Christ. The story is familiar, 
and need not be repeated in detail. The points essential to 
this discussion are as follows: 

(1) The younger son left the father’s house, taking with him 
his portion of goods. By a riotous course of life he came to 
destitution and want. 

(2) This experience brought him to sorrow over his past 
course of life. He thought of his destitution and of his 
father’s goodness and abundance. 

(3) He changed his mind with respect to his course of life. 
He determined to break away from his evil surroundings and 
to go back to his father. Here was repentance (“ Metanoia ”). 

(4) He arose and returned to his father. 

In this example we begin with faith. The boy, however, 
abandoned his faith in his father. He left him for a life of sin. 
His experience was the preacher that revived his faith. This 
was followed by sorrow, this by change of mind, and this by 
an overt act resulting in a new and changed life. 

Then, as a definition of repentance, we may say : “ It is a 
change of mind, consisting of a determination to forsake a sinful 
life and lead a life of righteousness.” Jts antecedents are, faith 
and J esus Christ, resulting in sorrow for sin. Its consequents are, 
a turning away from sin, followed by a life of righteousness. 


REPENTANCE. 


119 


It may be well for us to remember that repentance is a 
very broad term in its application, when used as a condition of 
salvation. True, there may be an act of repentance for every 
specific sinful act. A man may tell a falsehood, feel sorry for 
it, and determine to do so no more. This is repentance ; but 
repentance in its broad sense is not a renunciation of one or 
more particular sins — that is, of some definite number of sins — 
but a renouncing of sin. It is a determination to abandon the 
course of sin, which involves a forsaking of all grades and 
classes of sins. It, consequently, determines, not some par- 
ticular action, but a whole course of life, which involves a 
change of the governing principle. It is, therefore, a matter 
of supreme significance. It is a grand and mighty act in 
which angels may well feel interested. It will be followed by 
many a fierce battle to overcome this bad habit, or that partic- 
ular sin, but when the firm resolution has been made, inspired 
by faith, and prompted by sorrow for and hatred of sin, by the 
grace of God the victory can be won. 

The question has sometimes been raised as to whether faith 
can, in any sense, come after repentance. I unhesitatingly 
answer, Yes. Faith, in the sense of trust, is a growth. It has 
measures or degrees. It may be weak or strong. Now, while 
faith, both psychologically and Scripturally, comes before 
repentance in its first stages or beginnings, in its advanced 
stages it may follow repentance. That is, it may increase after 
repentance. In fact, it will necessarily increase. In the sense 
of larger, stronger faith, it may come after repentance, and 
repentance in turn may be followed by faith — greater, grander, 
nobler faith. 

III. We are led to consider in the next place, the hindrances 
to repentance. 

i. Bearing in mind that repentance is a radical change of 
mind, induced by sorrow for sin, which is produced by faith in 


120 


THE GEE AT SAL VAT ION, 


Christ, and leading to a new life, we must at once see that the 
natural pride of the heart hinders repentance. Man seems to 
be naturally a proud being, although a calm, impartial view 
reveals little ground for such feeling. True, in one sense, we 
may justly have a feeling of pride. When we consider our 
origin, children of the King ; our possibilities, capable of great 
growth ; our destiny, an endless existence of bliss in the 
society of God and unfallen spirits, we may reasonably experi- 
ence a feeling of self-esteem. This, however, is not pride in a 
bad or foolish sense. From the standpoint of actual condition, 
we have little reason for pride. An introspective view will 
reveal to each more or less of sinful tendency ; more or less of 
groveling propensity ; more or less of actual guilt ; more or 
less of narrowness or bigotry; more or less of prejudice ; more 
or less of subordination of the superior to the inferior in our 
nature, and it will reveal a great deal of ignorance in even the 
wisest. All this should cause a feeling of deep humility rather 
than pride. But notwithstanding this, man is not simply 
proud in the good sense referred to above — this is a feeling to 
be commended rather than condemned — but he is vain in the 
bad or foolish sense. We have a silly vanity that prompts us 
often to cling to things that are wrong, and which we feel to 
be wrong, simply because a change is humiliating. It requires 
no small amount of moral heroism to turn around and take the 
back track. It may subject us to censure and ridicule. Our 
friends may laugh at us and our enemies may cast upon us 
obloquy and reproach. Some never repent because they can 
not face all this. They are too vain. Humility is truly a 
priceless jewel. The necessity for this cardinal virtue is shown 
from the language of Christ : “ Except ye turn and become as 
little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of 
heaven.” “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and 
earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and 
understanding and didst reveal them unto babes.” The 


REPENTANCE. 


121 


philosophy of such language is apparent when we consider 
that humility is necessary to true repentance, and that it is the 
necessary condition of receiving great truth. 

2. Next may be mentioned, as a hindrance to repentance, 
the feeling of self-sufficiency. Perhaps our vanity often leads 
us to trust in ourselves. Certainly very many seem to have 
great confidence in their own strength and resources. This is 
all the more strange because most of us have been cheated 
so many times. Repeated failures ought to teach us the les- 
son of dependence, yet, unfortunately, it does not do it. Men 
who are conscious of sin and, consequently, of the need of 
reform, are prone to rely solely on themselves. They feel no 
need of repentance toward God. There is no sadder picture 
than to see a weak mortal going out into the arena of life 
to fight its awful battles alone. Jesus saw this tendency in 
man, and knew the danger involved when he said, “Without 
me ye can do nothing.” 

3. The influence of carnal, corrupt desires is another great 
hindrance to repentance. The necessary consequence of 
repentance, involving the giving up of sensual gratifications, 
appetites, sordid pleasures, lust, gross forms of sin, all must 
be subdued or given up. Here is a surrender many can not 
make. The drunkard may weep over his sin, yet his burning 
appetite keeps him from the deliberate purpose to abandon his 
habits of dissipation. Sorrow suggests repentance, but appe- 
tite makes a powerful counter appeal, and the man hesitates 
and is lost. 

4. The deceptive appearances of sin often prevent repent- 
ance. The wrong life appears so pleasant, so charming, and 
so harmless. The hideous deformity is disguised under a fair 
exterior. The foul, hideous sepulcher, full of corruption and 
noisome vapors, is fair on the outside. The bitter pill is sugar- 
coated ; the precipice is concealed by the hedge of roses. The 
noise of the engulfing torrent is drowned by sweet strains of 


122 


THE GEE AT SALVATION. 


music. Why resolve to turn away from things so pleasant ? 
Many have allowed themselves to drift onward, lulled into a 
fatal repose by the siren of sin, until, alas, the opportunity 
for repentance is gone. 

5. The last hindrance that we will specify is that of pro- 
crastination. This is the thief that robs us every day of that 
which is more valuable than money. It steals our time and 
our opportunities, neither of which can ever be recovered by 
any possible means. Many come to the end of life impeni- 
tent, not because they have deliberately chosen it so, but 
because they put off their repentance till a more convenient 
season. No man is true to himself who defers the choice for 
righteousness for a single hour. Loyalty to the highest inter- 
ests of the soul demands instant choice followed by immediate 
action. 

IV. Last of all, the motives to repentance demand our 
notice. 

1. The apostle Paul declares that the goodness of God 
leadeth to repentance. This is certainly a motive sufficiently 
strong to induce every one to turn away in the purpose of his 
life from a course of sin. Gratitude to Him who clothes us, 
feeds us, pours out upon us the richest gifts in the most abun- 
dant measure, provides for our every want — physical, intel- 
lectual, and spiritual — should lead every man to repentance. 
No well-disposed child can go against the wishes of a kind, 
wise, and loving earthly parent. To do so is felt to be the 
basest ingratitude. To refuse obedience to such a parent, is to 
incur the censure of all right-minded people and the condem- 
nation of an enlightened conscience. Our heavenly Father, 
the kindest of parents, commands us to repent. What greater 
motive could we have than this? Well may Paul say that the 
goodness of God leads us to repentance. Truly it leads many, 
and it ought to lead all. 


REPENTANCE. 


123 


2. The abiding interest and the deep anxiety that the 
inhabitants of heaven feel toward the impenitent should act as 
a strong incentive. “ There is more joy over one sinner that 
repenteth than over ninety and nine just persons that need no 
forgiveness.’ * This is a wonderful, a startling fact. It shows 
us the immense importance of repentance. Eternal conse- 
quences are suspended upon it. It shows us also the won- 
derful philanthropy of the inhabitants of the heavenly world, 
and admonishes us to manifest a proper regard for ourselves by 
turning in purpose from sin and ruin to righteousness and true 
holiness, and thus become worthy of the inheritance of the 
saints in light. The fact that repentance causes joy in heaven, 
should, therefore, operate as a powerful motive to lead men to 
repentance. 

3. The degrading and deadly character of a life of sin 
should operate as an all-sufficient motive to cause men to 
repent. Every day that men give to a life of sin is sinking 
them deeper in moral degradation, and causing more of moral 
deformity. Every hour thus spent is taking the soul farther 
away from God and from fellowship with pure and good. It 
is corrupting more and more the fountains of physical, intel- 
lectual, and spiritual life ; it is vitiating the taste, beclouding 
the judgment, weakening the moral perceptions, paralyzing 
the higher faculties, and bringing into subjection the nobler 
impulses. There is a moral gravitation continually downward 
that hurries the soul onward to its ruin with an ever-increasing 
momentum. Sin has never given one cup of happiness in 
which there was not dregs of bitterness ; it has never offered a 
rose on which there was not a sharp thorn. It takes the health 
out of the limbs, vigor and elasticity out of the constitution, 
brightness out of the eyes, color out of the cheek, hope out of the 
heart, buoyancy out of the spirit, and aspiration out of the soul. 

A life of sin is a desert without an oasis, a winter without a 
summer, a night without a morning. That so many are being 


124 


THE GEE AT SALVATION. 


borne onward to destruction, never suspecting the terrible dan- 
ger to which they are exposed, should serve to warn all men of 
the terrible effects of sin. It should serve as a bugle blast to 
call men everywhere to repentance. 

4. As a final motive to repentance, it should never be for- 
gotten that the righteous judgment of God must and will cast 
off forever the finally impenitent. To go out alone away from 
home, from friends, from kindred spirits, is a gloomy, desolate 
thought ; but to go out in the day of eternity, away from the 
good, the pure, the noble, away from God, from happiness, 
from peace, who can endure the awful thought? 

Ought not the sentence of eternal banishment pronounced 
against the sinner by God, and necessarily written in the 
constitution of the moral world, admonish the sinner to repent 
and turn to God, and do works worthy of repentance ? 


CHAPTER VIII. 


THE CONFESSION. 

Introduction : The religion of Christ has a two-fold 
bearing, — 

i. It has to do first of all with the individual. It is a 
personal possession ; a matter between the soul and God. In 
fact, the word religion, in its etymological meaning, indicates 
this. “ Religio ” is a binding again or binding back — a uniting 
of the broken connection between man and God. This bind- 
ing back is accomplished through Christ, who is God manifest 
in the flesh. It is complete and entire submission to Him to 
whom all authority has been given. This view of the case 
requires each one to separate himself from all the world and 
stand alone before God, and submit to the Divine requirements 
as if there were not another soul on earth. This is a work no 
one can perform for another. Father can not perform this for 
son, nor son for father ; mother for daughter, nor daughter for 
mother ; husband for wife, nor wife for husband. Each one 
stands or falls for himself. Neither will the failure of any one 
to discharge this obligation serve as an excuse for another. On 
the contrary, thereby the obligation of the other seems rather 
to be increased. The husband may deny his duty to Christ, or 
neglect it ; the obligation of the wife is in no way diminished, 
but is rather increased. The child may refuse to submit ; the 
parents’ obligation is, if possible, greater than it otherwise 
would be. Isaiah recognized this principle when he said: 
<i Woe is me, for I am undone, because I dwell in the midst of 
a people of unclean lips.” He felt other’s sins were no excuse 


126 


THE GREA T SAL VA T10N. 


for him, but, on the contrary, that his own obligations were, 
on that account, increased. Let this fact, then, be constantly 
kept in mind, that the personal aspect of the religion of Christ 
is of the first and highest importance. 

2. By the side of this truth must be placed another that is 
of very great importance. It must ever be remembered that it 
is not in accordance with the spirit of Christ’s religion that its 
influence should exhaust itself on the individual’s own heart 
and life. Although it is intended first for self, it is not 
intended to be confined to self. In fact, by its very nature, it 
can not be confined. It rebels at any such narrow limits as a 
single heart. The man who can confine his religion to himself 
has not the religion of Christ in any large measure. True 
religion is social in its nature. It works from within outwardly, 
and, consequently, seeks for an ever-increasing circle of power. 
The moment it occupies the individual heart it struggles for 
utterance. It arms itself for conquest, and goes forth to the 
battle. The wife wants the husband saved, and the husband 
the wife ; the parent the child, and the child the parent. Nay, 
you can not circumscribe this impulse by family, national, or 
race lines. It can never rest as long as there is a single soul 
that has not submitted to the authority of the King. 

If the religion of Christ had to do solely with the indi- 
vidual heart, an outward, open, verbal confession might not be 
so necessary, but, inasmuch as it can not, in the very nature of 
the case, be thus confined, an open, verbal confession is not 
only exceedingly appropriate, but absolutely essential. Secret 
discipleship is a delusion. Christ recognizes no such relation- 
ship. He demands an open avowal. 

We are led, then, to inquire, — 

I. What constitutes a necessary and proper confession of faith. 

Of course, all agree that the confession be an expression of 
the faith that is in the heart, and we have seen that faith. 


THE CONFESSION. 


127 


subjectively considered, is confidence or trust in Jesus as a 
personal, living Saviour. The question, however, remains, 
What constitutes an adequate comprehensive confession — one 
that is exhaustive and free from ambiguity ? Is there a defi- 
nite and invariable expression of truth that will always and 
everywhere clearly and fully express this faith, or is each 
person left to himself to give expression to the faith of his 
heart in such form of words as may seem to him fitting and 
proper ? 

A study of the New Testament Scriptures reveals a confes- 
sion that is a clear, concise, unambiguous, adequate expression 
of the faith of the soul, both in its subjective and objective 
aspects. It is so perfect that we can add nothing to it or make 
it more comprehensive, nor can we take anything from it 
without marring its beauty and destroying its completeness. 
This confession is not the product of the human mind, but it 
is rather the embodiment of the Divine wisdom in a state- 
ment that adequately and properly expresses the necessary 
human faith, both as a subjective possession and as an objec- 
tive reality. 

I. We receive this Divine statement or confession from God 
the Father. 

On two occasions mentioned in the New Testament, God 
bore witness to Christ in a very pointed and specific manner. 

(1) When Jesus was about to enter on his public ministry, 
he came to John to be baptized of him in Jordan. After his 
baptism, as he came up from the water, the heavens were 
opened, and the Spirit of God descended in the bodily form 
like a dove, and lighted upon him, and a voice came from 
heaven, saying: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
pleased.” 

(2) On the mountain of transfiguration, Jesus was robed in 
his heavenly glory, and his face became as resplendent as the 
sun. Peter, James, and John were witnesses from earth, and 


128 


THE GREAT SALVATION . 


Moses and Elias were present as representatives from the 
heavenly world. Again the voice came from heaven saying, 
“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye 
him.” Here not only his personality, but his authoritative 
work as teacher and law-giver is declared. 

2. We receive this confession from Christ himself. 

Christ repeatedly asserted, while here on earth, that he was 
the Son of God, both in the direct language and in words im- 
plying that fact. “I and my Father are one.” “ I came not 
down from heaven to do mine own will, but the will of him 
that sent me.” “As my Father hath sent me, even so I send 
you.” “I am come in my Father’s name.” "Glorify thou me 
with thine own self, with the glory I had with thee before the 
world was.” “ I proceeded forth and came from God.” “Art 
thou then the Son of God ? and he said unto them, Ye say 
that I am.” This is the language of Christ when on trial for 
his life. The marginal reading translates the passage, “Ye 
say it because I am.” It is an idiomatic form of affirmation. 
In selecting quotations embodying this great truth, we are em- 
barrassed by the multitude of the passages that crowd upon us. 

This fact of Sonship, declared by God, and asserted by 
Christ, necessarily carries with it all the claims of Christ in his 
three-fold relation to humanity as Prophet, Priest, and King. 
To confess the truth, is to give a proper and adequate expres- 
sion to the faith that is in his heart. This embraces all that 
need be or can be said. 

3. We also learn what constitutes the confession from 
statements made while Christ was upon earth, and by men 
upon which he placed the seal of his approval. 

(1) When Jesus asked his disciples, “ Who do men say 
that I, the Son of man, am?” Peter answered, “Thou art the 
Christ, the Son of the living God.” Attention has already 
been directed to this confession in the chapter on the ‘ * Foun- 
dation.” We there saw that Christ declared that the great 


THE CONFESSION . 


129 


truth confessed by Peter had been revealed to him by the 
Father in heaven. It is, therefore, a divinely-inspired state- 
ment, and not the product of human wisdom. 

(2) We also learn that this confession was being made by 
others, in studying the account of the miracle wrought by 
Christ on the blind man, and we infer that it was becoming 
quite common. When the parents of the blind man were 
questioned as to how or by whom their son had been cured, 
they gave evasive answers, because it is said, “They feared 
the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already that if any man 
should confess him to be the Christ, he should be put out of 
the synagogue” (John ix. 22). Thus it seems that to confess 
Jesus was to confess that he was the Christ, or, in other words, 
that he was the anointed of God. Doubtless some, perhaps 
many, were making this confession, or the Jews would not 
have agreed among themselves to cast any out of the syna- 
gogue who should make it. 

Jesus sealed this confession of him by his own special 
sanction. When Peter made it, Christ pronounced a blessing 
upon him for doing so. He also said on another occasion, 
“ Everyone therefore who shall confess me before men, him 
will I also confess before my Father which is in heaven ” 
(Matthew x. 32). “And I say unto you, every one who shall 
confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess 
before the angels of God” (Luke xii. 8). The confession 
therefore involved a declaration concerning the personality of 
Christ. It was the confession of him as a Divine Person, 
and not simply a statement of something about him. This 
carried with it, all that Jesus was or claimed to be. 

4. We also learn what the confession was from the apostles 
after Christ had ascended to heaven. 

(1) John says, “ Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the 
Son of God, God dwelleth in him and he in God” (I. John iv. 
15). Also, “ Who is he that overcometh the world but he that 


130 


THE GEE A T SAL V A T /ON. 


believeth that Jesus is the Son of God” (I. John v. 5). This 
falls into beautiful harmony with the words of God and of 
Christ. God said, “This is my beloved Son.” Jesus declared 
himself to be the Son of God, and also blessed Peter for 
declaring it. John says the thing to be believed in order to 
overcome the world is, that “Jesus is the Son of God,” and 
he also declares this is the thing to be confessed in order that 
God may dwell in us. Of course, this faith is personal in its 
object, as we have learned from other scriptures, and it 
involves not simply an intellectual assent to a proposition, but 
a personal trust. 

(2) Paul says to Timothy, “Fight the good fight of faith, 
lay hold on eternal life whereunto thou wast called and didst 
confess the good confession in the sight of many witnesses” 
(I. Timothy vi. 12). Jesus had said, “ Everyone who shall 
confess me before men, him will I also confess before my 
Father which is in heaven.” Timothy made the “good con- 
fession ” before many witnesses, and Paul says it was unto 
eternal life. It therefore follows that this “good confes- 
sion ” was the confession of Christ. We also reach this 
same conclusion from a study of the next verse. Paul 
there uses the phrase, “good confession,” again, and ap- 
plies it to the confession that Jesus made before Pontius 
Pilate, which was doubtless a declaration of the fact that he 
was the Son of God, for when he was on the cross his enemies 
said: “If thou be the Son of God, come down from the 
cross”; also, “ He that trusteth on God ; let him deliver him 
now if he desireth him, for he said, I am the Son of God.” 
This had, doubtless, just been said in his trial before Pilate. 
According to Luke, he confessed this fact during his trial, 
when the Jews said, “Art thou the Son of God?” He cer- 
tainly said it in substance on many other occasions. 

5. Church historians bear abundant testimony as to what 
the confession consisted of in the primitive church. 


THE CONFESSION. 


131 


(1) Neander says: “At the beginning, when it was im- 
portant that the church should rapidly extend itself, those who 
confessed their belief in Jesus as the Messiah among the 
Jews, or their belief in one God and in Jesus as the Messiah 
among the Gentiles, were immediately baptized.” 

(2) Dr. Robinson says: “Among primitive Christians 

there was a uniform belief that Jesus was the Christ, and a 
perfect harmony of affection. . . . These churches were 

all composed of reputed believers, who had been baptized by 
immersion, on profession of their faith.” 

(3) Mosheim says: “Whoever acknowledged Christ as the 
Saviour of mankind, and made a solemn profession of his con- 
fidence in him, was immediately baptized and received into the 
church.” 

Other testimonials of similar import might be introduced, 
but it is unnecessary. We will get additional Scripture testi- 
mony as to what constitutes a proper confession, by consid- 
ering,-— 

II. How and when the confession should be made. 

There is an every-day confession of Christ that every Chris- 
tian man is under obligation to make by his daily walk and 
conversation. It is incumbent upon Christians to so live that 
all men may -know them to be followers of Jesus. However, 
this informal and ever-recurring confession, although very 
important, is not that to which we refer in this discussion. 
There is a formal, pointed, definite, necessary, and fitting con- 
fession, as we have just seen, and both the manner and time of 
making it may be clearly determined. 

I. According to apostolic teaching it is a verbal confession. 
It is to be made with the mouth. 

(1) Paul says: “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth 
Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised 
him from the dead, thou shalt be saved, for with the heart man 


132 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is 
made unto salvation ” (Romans x. 9, 10). This is something 
different from the every-day confession of Christian life. It is 
not a confession of deeds or actions, such as one makes by 
coming into the church or visiting the sick. It logically goes 
before all this. It is a formal and open avowal before the 
world in express words of the faith that is in the heart. 

(2) God has determined that every one shall formally make 
this confession, either gladly and willingly, as the full and free 
expression of the heart’s confidence, or unwillingly and by 
compulsion. “ Wherefore also God highly exalted him and 
gave unto him a name which is above every name, that in the 
name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven and 
things on earth and things under the earth, and that every 
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of 
God the Father” (Phil. ii. 9-1 1). “For it is written, As I 
live, saith the Lord, to me every knee shall bow, and every 
tongue shall confess to God ” (Rom. xiv. 11). Surely this is 
a most reasonable requirement. 

2. There is also a time when this should be done, that it 
may be clearly ascertained from apostolic teaching. 

(1) We learn in the quotation from Romans above, that 
confession is made unto salvation. The same fact may be 
inferred from the language quoted from John. Jesus, in giving 
the commission, said: “He that believeth and is baptized 
shall be saved.” On Pentecost, when the convicted ones cried 
out, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said, “ Repent ye 
and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ 
unto the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the 
Holy Spirit.” Ananias said to the penitent Saul, “Arise and 
be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on his [the Lord’s] 
name.” Two points are established by the foregoing quota- 
tions: First, the baptized believer is said to be saved. We 
gather this from the words of Jesus in the commission, and also 


THE CONFESSION. 


133 


from the language of Peter and Ananias. Second, confession 
comes before salvation. It follows, therefore, that confession 
comes before baptism, since there is no period between baptism 
and salvation in which to make the confession. Again, Paul 
says: 4 ‘With the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and 
with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” In other 
words, confession comes after faith and before baptism. There 
is something beautifully consistent in this order. The process 
is an exceedingly logical one. It meets the demand of reason 
and common sense. A genuine confession presupposes faith. 
It could not be made without faith. The mouth confesses 
what the heart believes. It certainly should be made before 
baptism, since that is the act on man’s part that culminates in 
salvation or pardon, and brings him to the enjoyment of God’s 
promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit, and unto the new cove- 
nant relation. Here, as everywhere, reason and the Bible are 
perfectly harmonious. 

III. We are led next to consider the characteristics of this 
confession and what is involved in it. Its supreme importance 
will thus become manifest. 

i. It is very simple. It is an expression of faith or confi- 
dence in a Divine person, and not a subtle and metaphysical 
explanation of Divine mysteries. It declares a certain truth as 
the basis of faith, but makes no attempt to explain the mys- 
tery connected with the truth. It deals with the what , and not 
with the how . A child can accept the former ; the proudest 
philosopher may be unable to explain the mysteries connected 
with the latter. The Divine goodness and wisdom is nowhere 
more apparent than in making salvation dependent on faith 
in a person in a capacity and relation sustained by clear and 
explicit testimony, rather than upon abstruse and elaborate 
systems of theology. Jesus doubtless had this very point 
in mind when he said, “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of 


134 


THE GEE AT SALVATION. 


heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the 
wise and understanding and didst reveal them unto babes.” 
In view of this statement from Christ, may we not expect 
a very simple confession of faith ; or, rather, is not a simple 
confession a most natural and reasonable thing? Yet, strange 
to say, the objection is frequently heard that this confession 
is too simple. How often when it is made, do we hear the 
objector say, “Any one can say that.” This is certainly true. 
Any one who believes it can say it, and in this the wisdom 
of God shines out. God has made both the faith and the 
expression of it so simple that it comes within the radius 
of every one’s powers. It comes down to the lowest level, 
and by this means the blessing of salvation is “scattered 
beside all waters.” 

As a matter of fact, this objection grows out of misconcep- 
tion. It results from confounding the simple faith in Christ 
with theological dogmas. Theology is very valuable in its 
way, and by no means to be despised, but it should ever be 
kept in mind that theology is not necessarily Christianity. It 
is possible to be a great theologian and not a Christian, and, 
on the contrary, to be a good Christian and not a theologian. 
The aim of the gospel is to make men Christians ; and the 
confession is intended as an expression of that faith which 
is essential to Christian character and life, and not the faith that 
is essential to, or constitutes, formal or systematic theology. 
This world must and will be saved by Christ and not by doc- 
trinal systems. 

2. This confession is very comprehensive. 

We have already seen that man’s need is threefold, and 
that it has always been met and necessarily must be met in the 
three offices of prophet, priest, and king. We have farther 
seen that these three offices are centered in Jesus, and, as the 
divine Son of God, he fills these offices perfectly and com- 
pletely. There is no impotence or weakness discoverable 


THE CONFESSION. 


135 


anywhere. This confession, therefore, acknowledges Jesus as 
standing in his threefold relation to the soul. It expresses a 
trust in him as the complete satisfaction of all human need. 
If it be true, as it is, that any one can make this confession, it 
is equally true that no one can say more than this. The most 
comprehensive proposition ever formulated by human wisdom 
pales into insignificance when placed beside this divinely given 
and clearly formulated truth. It presents the appearance of a 
tallow candle in the presence of the noonday sun. It is well 
worthy of the divine origin claimed for it, so simple yet so 
profound, so small and yet so great. 

It furnishes sufficient basis for the salvation of the world. 
In it are centered all the hopes of mortals that pertain to the 
life that now is and that reaches beyond the grave. It under- 
lies the whole scheme of redemption. If Jesus be not the Son 
of God, he was a gross impostor, and, consequently, no one is 
under any obligation to obey him. Deny the proposition that 
Jesus is the Son of God, and you sweep from under him the 
very ground of his authority. On the other hand, if Jesus 
was the Son of God, he speaks with the authority of God, and 
no one can refuse to hear and obey, except at his own peril. 
To accept this truth is to place the soul under highest obliga- 
tions of obedience, therefore Jesus promises to confess those 
who confess him. 

3. This confession places Jesus at the climatic point in the 
soul’s salvation. An analysis of man leads us to consider a 
sublime culmination, not only in the history of the race, but 
potentially in the history of every individual, in which Jesus 
becomes the central figure and the efficient agent for the 
accomplishment of highest good to the soul. 

(1) Man has a most wonderful physical organism, and 
yet it is possible to conceive of a being with a body as perfect 
as that of man, and yet lacking in those intellectual and spirit- 
ual qualities that give to man his wonderful preeminence. In 


136 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


fact, such a creature can scarcely be regarded as hypothetical, 
since we find it almost completely realized in certain species of 
the ape family. Such a creature, even though it approach 
man ever so closely in its physical organism, yet drops below 
the human plane by a distance that is apparently infinite. 

(2) We can conceive of such a creature, endowed with the 
purely intellectual qualities, as distinguished from the moral or 
spiritual, and hence lacking the power of making moral dis- 
tinctions. Such a being would truly be wonderful, but, 
although provided with a body as perfect as that of man, and 
endowed with the purely intellectual faculties, the power to 
think, reason, and will, it would not rise to the level of man. 
Far from it. The drop below the human plane would be most 
infinite. Such a creature would lack that which gives to man 
his very crown of glory, which is the power to make moral 
distinctions ; the power to decide between good and evil. The 
terms “ right and wrong ” could not be applied to the acts of 
this hypothetical being any more than to the actions of one of 
the lower order of animals. When Adam came forth from the 
plastic hand of his Creator, possessing his wonderful body, 
wonderful intellectual powers, and still more wonderful endow- 
ments, 4 no wonder he stood at the climatic point of creation, 
and was declared to have been made in the image of God. 
The question, however, is suggested by this hypothetical his- 
tory, as to whether Adam represents the ultimate end in God’s 
plan and purpose. Has the highest point been reached ? Does 
this being represent the Divine purpose in its full realization ? 
Judging from the history of the case, we must say, No. With 
the power to know right and wrong ; with the two clearly pre- 
sented; with the power of choice and the will to do, man 
chose the wrong instead of the right. Is this the outcome of 
the Divine purpose ? Is God’s work to end in a defaced image 
of himself? Is all the upward current of progress, discover- 
able in creation, to be suddenly turned back upon itself, and 


THE CONFESSION . 


137 


the work of aeons to end in disgraceful failure ? Reason rebels 
at the thought. Surely he who saw the end from the begin- 
ning, looked beyond this creature Adam, wonderful as he was, 
to a product of the divine workmanship that would reflect 
glory unto the divine Architect. Just here the Book of Rev- 
elation comes to our assistance with its unfolding plan of 
infinite wisdom, love, and grace. 

The expectancy created by the apparently sad issue of the 
test imposed on Adam, is met by the farther revelation of the 
divine purpose, showing its realization in the human married 
to the divine. As God married the physical to the intel- 
lectual, and both to the spiritual, he moves forward to the 
realization of his divine purpose in a marriage of this threefold 
being to the divine. This great purpose is realized in Christ. 
Jesus is God on the human plain, tenderly wooing man to him- 
self as a lover woes his bride. Married to the divine is to be 
married to Christ, and as the husband and bride are one, so 
Christ and the Christian are one. Hence, in Jesus Christ “we 
are made partakers of the divine nature,” and thus reach that 
high plain of exaltation and blessedness in which the divine 
purpose concerning man is realized. It therefore follows that 
the confession of faith in Jesus exalts him to the supreme 
position of honor, glory, and power as the Sovereign of the 
soul, the King of humanity, and the Bridegroom of the 
church. No other wedding will ever be needed, because in 
Christ Jesus man is made a new creature, and lifted up to the 
divine plain, where God and the unfallen spirits dwell. The 
divine process, slow though it may have been, and apparently 
interrupted by the sad circumstance of sin, is vindicated, and 
the divine wisdom demonstrated, in man redeemed from the 
thralldom of moral evil, incident to his inferior, baser con- 
dition, and exalted to celestial heights of virtue, thus becoming 
a citizen of the everlasting kingdom, prepared for him ‘‘ from 
the foundation of the world.” 


138 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


IV. We are led finally to consider a few of the many reasons 
that exist for making an open verbal confession of Christ. 

1. Because it is logically demanded as the first outward 
expression of the faith that is in the heart and of the re- 
pentance that leads to a changed life. Faith and repentance 
are inward matters, but they can not be shut up and confined 
to the heart. The inward faith must find some outward 
expression, or it will perish. The changed purpose must man- 
ifest itself in some overt act, or it will die. The first and 
most natural form of expression for the inward faith and 
repentance, is an open avowal of the faith that led to the 
repentance. If the soul has believed and repented, it is the 
duty of the mouth to speak it. This act is necessary to con- 
firm both the faith and repentance. It is the logical beginning 
of all that is external in Christian duty and life. Our Chris- 
tianity leads us to make demands on others, and it places us in 
certain peculiar and necessary relations to others. In the 
ordinance of Christian baptism we require the service of 
another in order to its proper administration. Baptism is 
meaningless and worthless except as an act of faith. No one 
has any authority to administer it except to a believer. There- 
fore, we owe it to the administrator to confess our faith, as a 
justification for the service that we require of him. No one 
ought ever to administer baptism except upon a profession of 
faith, if he would be loyal to the command of Jesus. More- 
over, this baptism brings us into new relations,. not only to 
God, but also to men. The Christian brotherhood is based 
upon a common Christian faith, and, consequently, every one 
entering this fraternal relation owes it to his brethren to con- 
fess the faith, which is the common bond of union. We are, 
therefore, said to be children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 

2. We owe it to the Bridegroom, to whom we are united 
in the strongest bonds of faith and love. He is our best and 
truest friend. Though all other friends should desert us, yet 


THE CONFESSION. 


139 


will he remain faithful and true, 1 ‘ for he hath said, I will never 
leave thee nor forsake thee.” Nor is this an empty boast on 
his part. We may have the utmost confidence in this promise, 
from the fact that he has never left us. When, as a race, we 
were overwhelmed in the ruin wrought by sin, he did not leave 
us to a hopeless destiny of misery and woe, but turned away 
from the delights, enjoyments, and blissful associations of 
heaven, and the glory he had with the Father, and accepted 
an earthly life of humility and suffering, that he might re- 
deem us to God. He did not turn away from our sad and 
wretched condition, but “he knew our griefs and carried our 
sorrows, ” and even tasted death, although coming in its most 
ignominious form, and all freely, voluntarily, and for our sakes. 
Common gratitude, to say nothing of love, should compel 
every man to confess this Saviour before men. Nor is this all. 
From the very beginning of his work the powers of darkness 
have been marshalled against him and his work. He is hated 
and opposed by every wicked and diabolical spirit in the uni- 
verse. Every possible agency of evil is invoked to destroy his 
work. All the machinations of hell — misrepresentation, false- 
hood, slander, ridicule, persecution, and every evil and diabol- 
ical thing that cunning and wicked spirits can devise — are 
called into service to overthrow his kingdom of righteousness. 
The battle seems to wax fiercer as the ages advance, and the 
highest interests of the soul are involved in the issue. Every 
noble, patriotic, philanthropic impulse demands a fearless, 
open confession of Him who is the Captain of our salvation. 
To refuse is to be guilty of both cowardice and base ingrat- 
itude. 

The baseness of a refusal to confess Christ is magnified as 
the ages advance. The fairest products of our civilization have 
grown from the seed of Christianity. Christ is shown to be 
the Author of all that is sweetest and most blessed in the life 
of the world to-day. The Christian home — God’s paradise on 


140 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION . 


earth ; the purest and most beneficent forms of government ; 
the value and stability of material possessions ; the fairest pro- 
ducts of art and the noblest forms of literature ; the choicest 
expressions of human philanthropy — colleges, missionary soci- 
eties, hospitals, asylums, in short, eleemosynary institutions of 
every kind ; free schools and free institutions of every charac- 
ter and grade ; all organized efforts to redeem the world from 
ignorance, superstition and sin — all this, and infinitely more, is 
due to Christ, the world’s Hope and the world’s Redeemer. 

“ Ashamed of Jesus, just as soon 
Let morning be ashamed of noon. 

No, when I blush be this my shame, 

That I no more revere his name.” 

3. Every man owes it to the kingdom of God on earth to 
openly and publicly confess its King. 

The church is God’s organized agency for the lifting up of 
the world from its degraded moral condition. As an organiza- 
tion, it was built by Christ and founded upon himself, and that 
which is essential to its very existence is the divinity of its 
Founder. It is, consequently, eminently fitting and proper to 
require every one who seeks membership in this organization to 
make a formal declaration of his adherence to that which is 
fundamental and vital to the institution. No one has any right 
to membership in the Church of Christ who does not accept 
the divinity of Christ, the foundation, and no one should ever 
be permitted to enter it without formal assent to the proposi- 
tion embodying that fact. 

4. No man can pay the debt he justly owes his fellow man 
and refuse to openly confess Christ. 

In him is wrapped up the highest good of every individual, 
as well as the destiny of the race. Through the principles he 
has enunciated will come the overthrow of all social evils and 
the righting of all wrongs. In the road that he has pointed 
out, the human race must ever march onward and upward to 


THE CONFESSION. 


141 


the achievement of its highest destiny and realization of its 
greatest happiness. God’s promises are all yea and amen in 
Jesus Christ. To refuse to confess Christ before the world is, 
therefore, to withhold from men, so far as we can, that which 
is essential to their highest good, both here and hereafter. No 
man can be true to the highest interests of his fellow man and 
remain a mere passive spectator in a contest in which the des- 
tiny of the race is involved. In the presence of such an issue 
he must both speak and act, if he have the heart of a true 
man ; and the words that have more meaning and power in 
deciding this issue than any words the lips can speak are the 
words that confess the heart’s belief in the divinity of Christ. 
This at once places the individual on the side of God and 
humanity, and in active opposition to sin and wickedness. 

5. Finally, every man owes it to himself to confess the 
name of Jesus. The battle against sin is not fancy, a mere 
creation of the imagination. It is a terrible reality. The ruin 
and desolation wrought by sin is seen on every hand, nor are 
these evidences wholly external. No one can look within the 
chamber of his own soul and fail to discover the presence and 
the awful effects of the destroyer, sin. The contest within is 
often fiercer than the battle without. Even the sainted Paul, 
in the midst of the battle that he waged outwardly against sin, 
spoke of this inward struggle, and he seemed to live in daily 
apprehension as to the issue of this double conflict. He had 
learned to know the weakness and treachery of the human heart 
and the consequent need of strength that is divine. In the 
face of this awful struggle, when Satan, sometimes by subtle 
and wily devices, at other times by almost irresistible assaults, 
seeks to overwhelm the soul in irretrievable ruin, it behooves 
every man to fortify himself by every means that God has pro- 
vided in order to thwart the enemy in his diabolical designs. 
There is no way to intrench the soul more firmly in righteous- 
ness than by an open avowal that commits the individual to a 


142 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


right line of action. When the crises come that try the soul, 
he who has committed himself to God in open confession 
before men has an immense advantage. Many a man, just for 
the want of this, has gone down in everlasting shame and ruin, 
while on the other hand, many an one, by reason of this open 
confession, has risen a triumphant conqueror over the forces of 
hell, and has been able to say with Paul : ‘ 4 Thanks be to 

God, that giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus 
Christ.” In the presence of such facts as these, the language 
of the apostle already quoted takes on a new meaning : “ With 
the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth 
confession is made unto salvation. ” 

Let every one, therefore, be admonished by the pleadings 
of God, by the invitations of Christ, by the wooing of the 
Holy Spirit, by the example of the apostles and martyrs, by 
his obligation to the church, by the gratitude he owes the 
Saviour, by the debt he owes the world, by the duty he owes 
himself, and let him without fear, without hesitation, and in 
the consciousness that he will never do a nobler thing, stand 
up before the world and declare, ‘ * I believe with all my heart 
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 


CHAPTER IX. 


BAPTISM. 

Introduction : i . It is perhaps safe to say that there is no 
item of Christian faith or practice over which there has been 
more discussion than over the question of baptism ; nor has 
any question excited more animosity and bitterness among 
religious people. For centuries it has been a source of 
division and strife among the professed followers of Christ. 
To-day the controversy still rages, and is characterized, if with 
less of bitterness, certainly not with less of earnestness. It 
has divided churches, neighborhoods, and families, and stands 
even now as the most formidable barrier to the organic union 
of evangelical religious bodies. There are, however, some 
hopeful signs that indicate that possibly we have reached the 
beginning of the end of this vexed question. The larger 
charity that characterizes Christian people in this day, 
growing out of the fuller and better understanding that 
Christian denominations are beginning to have of each other, 
is dissipating the bigotry and prejudice that has been such a 
hindrance to anything like fair discussion, and a calm and im- 
partial judgment as to the merits of the arguments brought 
forward. The people love the right, and they do not love 
error; and when prejudice and bitter partisanship can be 
sufficiently abated to enable people to take an honest, candid 
view of any subject, they will see the right, and choose it, and 
they will reject the wrong. 

2. What is wanted to-day in the settlement of the bap- 
tismal controversy is more of the spirit of Christ, more of that 

143 


144 


THE GREA T SAL VA TJON. 


charity that “thinketh no evil," and that “suffers long and is 
kind.” We also need more of the disposition towards individ- 
ual inquiry and judgment which investigates subjects and 
decides them on their merits, and less of the spirit of tradition- 
alism, which accepts without question the doctrines and 
practices handed down from the past, and adheres to them 
with a sort of blind superstitious reverence. Happily the 
former spirit is growing. Religious thought is becoming larger 
and freer, religious investigation deeper and broader ; and there 
is less disposition to blindly follow in the footsteps of the fathers 
without raising the question of why and wherefore. Relig- 
ious people are more and more inclined to demand a reason 
for that which is imposed upon them, and they are also more 
ready to give an intelligent reason, not only for the hope 
within them, but for their outward religious practices. 

3. We may consequently safely conclude, in the light of 
existing conditions, that on certain phases of the question, 
unity of judgment will be reached, and that very speedily. 
This is not only an age of investigation, but of broad 
scholarship, characterized by the deepest piety. Surely, then, 
some phases of this question ought to be clearly and definitely 
settled. 

(1) We ought to answer in an unequivocal way what the 
word baptizo means as used by Christ and his apostles. 

(2) We ought to be able to discover from the New Testa- 
ment teaching, the importance that Christ and his apostles 
attach to this ordinance. 

(3) We ought to ascertain the class of persons upon whom 
the ordinance was imposed. 

(4) We ought to be able to learn positively the purpose of 
the institution. 

(5) We ought to be able to know definitely what the 
antecedents and consequents are. All this ought to become 
apparent by a careful and critical study of the New Testament 


BAPTISM. 


145 


Scriptures — such a study as the sanctified scholarship of the 
present day ought to be able to give to this important subject. 

4. But if all this were accomplished, there are still other 
phases of the question upon which unanimity of sentiment 
will not so soon be reached. 

(1) There arises the question of church authority — i. e. } the 
right of the church to depart from the apostolic custom, or 
change the apostolic form. The Roman Catholic Church 
boldly arrogates to itself this right, and it bases its practice of 
affusion on this ground. Authorities in the Church of England 
and other allied bodies, for the most part, take the same 
position. 

(2) Then, too, many Protestant bodies hold that the 
ordinance is non-essential, which logically carries with it the 
assumption that the form is immaterial. These are not 
questions that can be settled by scholarship or a critical study 
of the New Testament text, but they are rather deductions 
reached by a process of reasoning, which may or may not be 
sound. They belong rather to the field of opinion than to the 
domain of faith, but they nevertheless have been so rigidly 
held that they, practically, have been made tests of fellowship, 
and consequently they serve to divide. 

5. The possible grounds for agreement are not many, nor 
are they hard to discover. 

(1) It is evident that if all would agree to accept the New 
Testament meaning of the Greek word (which we, have no 
reason to suppose differs from the classical meaning), and to 
be governed by apostolic practice, controversy would soon 
come to an end. The advanced scholarship of the day, and 
the increasing light growing out of historic research and 
archaic investigation, would soon compel an agreement 
throughout the entire religious world ; and here I venture a pre- 
diction, that discussion as to the meaning of the Greek word, 
or as to the apostolic practice, will soon be a thing of the past. 


146 


THE GREAT SALVATION . 


(2) The only other possible ground lies in delivering the 
whole question over to the domain of individual judgment, or 
preference, and this we must see is rather more hypothetical 
than practical. As long as there is a large body who hold 
that baptism is a specific act, determined by the meaning of 
the word, and by the practice of Christ and his apostles, and 
that the form is of symbolic import, so long there will be those 
who will not consent to a change upon any ground whatsoever. 
They hold that it is not a question of the right of individual 
judgment or private interpretation, nor of taste or convenience, 
but a question of loyalty to a divine command enjoining a 
specific act of symbolic import, and which can not be obeyed 
by substituting some other act in which the symbolic import 
is lost. They maintain that there is no room for individual 
preference where a specific divine command is involved. To 
such persons the fact of Christ’s resurrection is declared, when- 
ever the ordinance of baptism is practiced, and it also, in their 
view, symbolizes the death of the subject to a life of sin and 
his resurrection to a life of holiness. They consequently 
regard a change in the form as utterly destructive of the ordi- 
nance, since the symbolic and spiritual significance is destroyed 
by such a change. 

We are, therefore, shut up to the conclusion that the 
only possible ground for uniformity of practice lies in ascer- 
taining the form of baptism in the apostolic day, and the 
place given to it, and having settled these questions, to 
require a rigid conformity in modern practice. Surely this is 
safe, and it ought to be satisfactory. We wish, therefore, in 
this investigation, not to enter upon a discussion as to whether 
the church has a right to change the divinely established order 
and form, but we will seek, if possible, to discover the apos- 
tolic baptism, or at least, we will try to adduce some of the 
important evidences bearing on this question. In harmony 
with this purpose, we will consider, — 


BAPTISM. 


147 


I. The importance of the ordinance. 

1. It was largely practiced by the harbinger of Christ. John 
the Baptist came to prepare the way of the Lord and make his 
paths straight. He preached the baptism of repentance, and 
the people, in large numbers, responded to his appeals, and 
submitted themselves to the ordinance. 

2. It was greatly honored by Christ. 

(1) He traveled about sixty miles to be baptized by John 
in Jordan, and on this occasion said: “ Thus it becometh us 
to fulfill all righteousness. ” From this we may assuredly 
gather that Christ considered baptism a righteous act that must 
needs be performed. 

(2) He embodied it in his commission. The same com- 
mission that says, “ Teach all nations,” says, “Baptize.” The 
preaching and the baptizing are joined together in the last great 
commission that Christ gave to his apostles. Surely we ought 
to be slow to declare anything unimportant or non-essential 
that was embodied in the commission that authorizes the 
preaching of the gospel, and to which the apostles appealed 
for their authority, and upon which every preacher to-day 
must necessarily rely. 

(3) It is performed by the authority of Christ, and inducts 
the subject into a threefold relation, viz . , with the Father, Son, 
and Holy Spirit. The three persons of the Godhead are thus 
associated together and acknowledged in the act. 

3. God honored the institution by acknowledging Christ at 
the time of his obedience to this ordinance, and declared him- 
self well pleased with his beloved Son. Is it not a significant 
fact that this act of baptism is associated with God’s first public 
acknowledgment of Christ as his Son ? 

4. The apostles honored it very greatly and magnified it on 
all occasions. They seldom omitted to mention it, as is shown 
either by the report of the sermon, or by what took place 
immediately after. 


148 


THE GREA T SAL VA TIOtf. 


(1) Peter, in preaching the first gospel sermon, said: “ Re- 
pent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Christ 
Jesus for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of 
the Holy Spirit . v 

(2) Ananias said to Saul of Tarsus : “ And now why tar- 
riest thou ? arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, call- 
ing upon the name of the Lord.” 

(3) Philip must have preached the duty of "baptism to the 
Eunuch, for at the close of the sermon the Eunuch declared : 
“ See, here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized ? ” 

(4) Peter, after preaching to the household of Cornelius, 
said: “Can any man forbid water that these should not be 
baptized which have received the Holy Ghost ^9 well as we ? 
And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the 
Lord.” 

(5) Paul must have preached it to Lydia and her house- 
hold. For we read that “she attended unto the things 
which were spoken of Paul, and when she was baptized and her 
household, she besought us saying, If ye have judged me to be 
faithful to the Lord, come unto my house and abide there.” 

(6) Paul certainly preached it to the jailer and his house- 
hold, for they were baptized the same hour of the night. 

(7) He must have preached it to the Corinthians, for we 
read: “ Many of the Corinthians hearing, believed and were 
baptized.” 

(8) It was also preached to certain disciples at Ephesus, for 
we read : ‘ * And when they heard this they were baptized in 
the name of the Lord Jesus.” 

(9) It was evidently preached to the Romans, for Paul 
said: “ Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into 
Christ Jesus were baptized into his death ?” 

(10) It was preached to the Galatians, for Paul declared: 
“As many of you as were baptized into Christ, did put on 
Christ.” 


BAPTISM. 


149 


(ii) It was preached to the Colossians, for Paul said of 
them: “ Having been buried with him in baptism ye were 
also raised with him through faith in the working of God who 
raised him from the dead.” 

All this shows clearly the prominence given to the ordin- 
ance of baptism in apostolic preaching and practice, and it is a 
very impressive lesson. They never belittled the ordinance or 
intimated that it was unimportant. The word non-essential 
was never applied by an apostle to anything commanded by 
Christ. 

5. It is associated with salvation, as is shown by such 
language as the following: “ He that believeth and is baptized 
shall be saved.” “ Arise and be baptized and wash away thy 
sins.” “The like figure whereunto” (referring to the eight 
souls saved from destruction by the flood in Noah's ark) 
“even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting 
away the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good con- 
science toward God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” 
We shrink from believing that baptism literally washes away 
sins, or that it is efficacious in and of itself for the putting 
away of sins; but still it remains true that it is associated with 
salvation from sin, in the Scriptures, by being named as one of 
the conditions upon which pardon is bestowed. In this view 
of the case it illbecomes a professed believer in Christ to 
belittle this sacred institution. 

6. It is declared to be the ordinance by which we get into 

Christ, i. e. f his body — the church. “Know ye not that so 
many of us as were baptized unto Jesus Christ were baptized 
unto his death ” (Rom. vi. 3). “ For as many of you as were 

baptized unto Christ did put on Christ ” (Gal. iii. 27). Surely 
He who founded the church has a right to name the initiatory 
rite, and shall any one assume to change it or set it aside ? 

7. By its symbolic import it is intimately interwoven with 
the whole fabric of Christianity. The death of Christ for our 


150 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


sins, his burial and his resurrection constitute the great facts of 
the gospel. Take these away, and the gospel is destroyed. 
The institution of baptism symbolizes these great facts. Paul 
declares: “We were buried therefore with him by baptism 
into death, that like as Christ was raised from the dead through 
the glory of the Father, so we might walk in newness of life. 
For if we have become united with him by the likeness of his 
death, we shall be also by the likeness of his resurrection ” 
(Rom. vi. 4, 5). “ Having been buried with him in bap- 

tism wherein ye were also raised with him through faith 
in the working of God, who raised him from the dead ” 
(Col. ii. 12). Baptism seems to have been instituted as a 
fingerboard that should ever point back to the great gospel 
facts. It is, therefore, of highest importance and profoundest 
meaning. 

8. All denominations, with possibly a single exception, 
admit its importance, since they make it a condition of 
membership, and in this many are far more Scriptural in 
practice than in theory ; and it is certainly very illogical to 
demand baptism as an essential and invariable condition 
of membership in the church, and at the same time declare 
it to be non-essential. If baptism be non-essential, then the 
church is non-essential, since it is the invariable condition of 
membership. 

In investigating this subject we are led to consider, — 

II. The proper subjects of baptism. 

1. The commission of our Lord leaves no room for doubt 
on this point. “Go disciple all nations, baptizing them into 
the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Teaching 
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded 
you. ” Here the baptizing commanded, seems to be commen- 
surate with the teaching enjoined, and subsequent to it. Four 
things are named in this commission, and placed in a certain 


BAPTISM. 


151 

order. First, Go ; secondly, Teach or Disciple ; thirdly, 
Baptize (evidently those who are taught) ; and fourthly, 
Teach the baptized to observe all things commanded by 
Christ. This order is natural, nay, may we not say nec- 
essary. The commission as given by Mark leads us to the 
same conclusion. ‘ * Go preach the gospel to every crea- 
ture; he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” 
Here the phrase, “preach the gospel,” stands as the equiv- 
alent of the word “disciple” in the commission as given by 
Matthew. 

It should be noted in this connection that baptism is not a 
human invention, but a divinely appointed ordinance. Our 
tastes and preferences can, therefore, have nothing whatever to 
do in the case. It is settled by the Divine will and enjoined 
by the Divine command. 

2. The same order is clearly set forth in many other 
passages of Scripture. 

(1) We read, in John iv. I, that “Jesus made and baptized 
more disciples than John.” This shows the disciples were 
made before they were baptized, which is certainly a very 
reasonable and logical process. 

(2) The practice of Peter on Pentecost is in perfect accord 

with this. “Now when they [the Pentecostians] heard this 
[Peter's preaching], they were pierced to the heart, and said 
unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, 
what shall we do ? Then Peter said unto- them, Repent ye, and 
be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for 
the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy 
Spirit. . . . Then they that gladly received his word 

were baptized : and the same day there were added unto them 
about three thousand souls ” (Acts ii. 37, 38, 41). Here is the 
same order : First, teaching ; second, the baptizing of those 
who received or believed the teaching. Clearly there were no 
infants baptized on this occasion, since only those who received 


152 


THE GEE AT SALVATION. 


the word were baptized. Let it also be noted that the apostles 
were perfectly loyal to their commission. * * Jesus said, Go 
teach all nations, baptizing them.” Peter in the first gospel 
sermon shows us just how he understood his instructions. He 
preached Christ crucified and risen, and enjoined repentance 
and baptism upon those who believed. There is not an 
intimation that baptism was given to, or enjoined upon, any 
who were not believers. 

(3) In Acts iii. 19 and iv. 4 we have another marked 

example of apostolic preaching in which the divine order is 
clearly indicated : “ Repent ye therefore and turn again that 
your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons 
of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. . . . But 

many of them that heard the word, believed and the number 
of the men came to be about five thousand.” Here believers 
alone were added to the church. 

(4) In Acts v. 14 we read : “And believers were the more 
added to the Lord, multitudes both men and women.” The 
same divine order is here apparent. Not the slightest intima- 
tion that any except believers were added to the Lord. 

(5) Acts vi. 7 furnishes another case in point: “And the 
word of God increased, and the number of disciples multiplied 
in Jerusalem exceedingly, and a great company of the priests 
were obedient to the faith.” Then it is clear that faith pre- 
ceded obedience. 

(6) Acts viii. 12 gives us an example of Philip’s work : 
“But when they believed Philip preaching good tidings 
concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus 
Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. ” Infants 
were not included. Only those who believed Philip were bap- 
tized. 

(7) Acts viii. 35-38 gives us another example of Philip’s 
work : ‘ ‘ And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from 
this scripture, preached unto him Jesus. And as they went 


BAPTISM. 


153 


on the way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch 
saith : Behold, here is water ; what doth hinder me to be bap- 
tized ? And he commanded the chariot to stand still, and they 
both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, 
and he baptized him.” The same divine order is shown 
— preaching, believing, obeying. 

(8) Saul’s conversion, as recorded in Acts ix., is in perfect 
keeping with the foregoing. Jesus appeared to him, as Paul 
elsewhere tells us, to make him a minister and a witness — i. e . , 
an apostle. Paul having fallen to earth, overcome by the 
miraculous manifestation, exclaimed: ‘ ‘ Who art thou, Lord?” 
The reply is given : “ I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest; but 
rise and enter into the city [Damascus], and it shall be told to 
thee what thou must do.” Ananias, a disciple of Jesus, being 
at Damascus, was sent to Saul, and he “ entered into the house 
and laying his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord, 
even Jesus, who appeared to thee in the way which thou 
comest hast sent me that thou mayest receive thy sight, and 
be filled with the Holy Ghost, and straightway there fell from 
his eyes as it were scales, and' he received his sight ; and he 
arose and was baptized.” In this instance the preaching that 
produced faith was done by Christ, and the case was then 
turned over to Ananias, who gave instruction concerning the 
duty of baptism, as we learn also from another scripture, and 
through whom the Holy Spirit was imparted. The order seen 
in the other cases of conversion is the order of events here — 
preaching, hearing, and believing come before baptism. 

(9) The conversation at the household of Cornelius is another 

illustration of this order. Acts x. 44, 47, 48: “ While Peter 
yet spake these words the Holy Ghost fell on all of them which 
heard the word. . . . Then answered Peter, Can any man 

forbid water that these should not be baptized which have 
received the Holy Ghost, as well as we ? And he commanded 
them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” Some have 


154 


THE GREA T SAL VA T10N. 


inferred that infants may have been included in this instance, 
but let it be borne in mind that infants are excluded from the 
rite of baptism by the commission ; and unless it can be clearly 
shown that the apostles did baptize infants, the presumption is 
against the practice. In this case, however, the matter is made 
plain by other passages. Peter, in giving an account of this 
conversion of Cornelius and his household, said (Acts xv. 9) : 
“And he made no distinction between us [Jews] and them 
[Gentiles] cleansing their hearts by faith.” This was said to 
those in council who were considering the question of circum- 
cision. Peter declared that God had given to the Gentiles the 
same evidence of favor (the Holy Spirit) that he had given to 
the Jewish Christians, and that he required of them the same 
faith in order to the cleansing of the heart. Furthermore, in 
Acts x. 2, we learn that Cornelius “feared God with all his 
heart.” The same household that feared God were baptized 
by Peter. It is apparent that there were no infants in this 
house ; or, if so, that they are not considered at all in the 
account given. 

(10) Not only is this order of preaching, believing, and 
obeying observed throughout the apostles’ work, but also in 
the work of their disciples. In Acts xi. 19-21 we read: 
“They therefore that were scattered abroad upon the tribulation 
that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, 
and Antioch, speaking the word to none save only the Jews. 
But there were some of them from Cyprus and Cyrene, who 
when they were come to Antioch spake unto the Greeks also, 
preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was 
with them, and a great number that believed turned unto the 
Lord.” This is beautifully harmonious with the apostolic 
practice. The gospel was given to those who could receive it 
by faith and obedience. 

(11) In Acts xvi. 14, 15, we have recorded the conversion 
of Lydia and her household. “And a certain woman named 


BAP 7 P>M. 


155 


Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which wor- 
shiped God heard us ; whose heart the Lord opened that she 
might give heed unto the things spoken by Paul. And when 
she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, 
If you have judged me to be faithful come into my house and 
abide there.” This is regarded as the Gibraltar of infant 
baptism by its advocates. Surely it must be a very precarious 
cause that rests on such a slender foundation. As has been 
pointed out, the inference is clearly against infant baptism, 
unless there is a clear case recorded. Is it known that there 
were infants in this house? Certainly not, since it is not 
known that Lydia was a married woman ; and the pre- 
sumption is that she was not, since she was away from home 
engaged in business. If married, there is no evidence she had 
children ; and if she had children, there is no evidence that they 
were infants, or that they were present on this occasion. The 
Lord opened her heart that she attended to the things spoken 
by Paul, and this seems to have been a condition of her 
baptism. Why conclude that others of her household were 
baptized who did not attend to the things spoken by Paul? 
The case is made still stronger against the inference that infants 
were baptized by the fortieth verse of the same chapter: “And 
they went out of the prison and entered into the house of 
Lydia ; and when they had seen the brethren they comforted 
them and departed.” Here the members of Lydia’s house are 
called “brethren,” a term scarcely applicable to infants. 

(12) In Acts xvi. 30-34, we have an account of the jailer’s 
conversion: “And he brought them out [of prison], and 
said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, 
Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and 
thy house. ” Evidently the household were to be saved on 
the same condition named to the jailer. “And they spake 
the word of the Lord unto him, with all that were in the house. 
And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their 


156 


THE GREAT SAL VATION. 


stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, immediately. And 
he brought them up into his house, and set meat before them, 
and rejoiced greatly with all his house, having believed in God." 
There could have been no infants, for Paul “spoke to him the 
word of the Lord, and to all that were in the house." All 
must have been old enough to understand, or else they are not 
taken into Account at all. It is also said that all rejoiced. The 
case, therefore, seems perfectly clear. Baptism was given to 
believers in this instance, as in all the others mentioned. 

(13) Paul says in I. Cor. i. 16: “And I baptized also the 
household of Stephanas." This passage has also been made 
to do duty in the cause of infant baptism, but the futility of 
the attempt appears when we read in I. Cor. xvi. 15, 16: 
“Now I beseech you, brethren (ye know the house of 
Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have 
set themselves to minister unto the saints), that ye also be in 
subjection unto such, and to everyone that helpeth in the work 
and laboreth.” It follows, therefore, that all in this household 
were old enough to minister, or that the infants, if there were 
any, were not considered. 

(14) We read in Acts xviii. 8 : “And Crispus, the ruler 
of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his house ; and 
many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized." 
Here as elsewhere we have faith as an antecedent of baptism, 
and we have also another instance of a believing household. 

Surely it would be superfluous to pursue this inquiry 
further. From the- commission of Christ, from the preaching 
and practice of the apostles, and from the teaching and 
practice of apostolic converts, we must conclude that faith and 
repentance are necessary and invariable antecedents of baptism. 
In every case on record in the New Testament, baptism was 
administered to a believer, or to believers, and in no case to 
infants, even by remote inference. A penitent believer is, 
therefore, a proper subject for baptism, and the only proper 


BAPTISM. 


157 


subject so far as we can gather from New Testament teaching. 
We are led to consider, — 

III. The form of baptism. 

I. This ought to be determined by the meaning of the 
word. It is, as it occurs in our authorized English versions, 
an Anglicized Greek word, and we must, therefore, if we 
would understand it, ascertain the meaning of the Greek 
term. 

(a) The classic use of the word baptizo is evidently its New 
Testament use, unless for some reason it is used in a new and 
special sense. It is true that words sometimes take on new 
and special meanings. This is necessarily the case when new 
ideas have to be expressed by old words, but new meanings 
are never given to words when there are other words in use 
which clearly express the idea to be conveyed. The Greek 
was a very perfect language, and it had words in abundance to 
express all known acts. Now, unless the act expressed by 
the word baptidzo was a new act entirely unknown to the 
Greeks, it is highly improbable that it would have been used 
in any sense differing from its ordinary classic use. Sophocles, 
a native Greek, in his lexicon says: “ There is no evidence that 
Luke and Paul and other writers of the New Testament put upon 
this verb, baptidzo , meanings not recognized by the Greeks.” 
If immersion was the act described, baptidzo would most 
certainly have been used. It is the word invariably used to 
describe that specific act. True, it was sometimes used in a 
tropical sense to describe the effects of an immersion, but the 
act of immersion was invariably expressed by baptidzo , hence 
every standard Greek lexicon defines baptidzo by “dip,” 
“immerse,” or their equivalents, as the primary meaning. On 
the supposition that sprinkling were the act to be described, 
would baptidzo have been used ? Most certainly not ; since it 
was not a new act, and the Greek language had consequently a 


158 


THE GEE A T SAL VA TION. 


word to express it, viz.: raino. If sprinkling were the act to 
be described, no intelligent Greek would have understood it 
under the term baptidzo , and it is inconceivable that the apostles 
would have used a term which, in the very nature of the case, 
would convey a false meaning when they had an unequivocal 
term at their command. The same line of argument holds 
with equal force against pouring. The Greek language has a 
word to express that specific act, viz.: cheo. (This is as nearly 
correct as English letters will express it.) The act of pouring 
would never occur to a Greek mind if baptidzo were used. 
These facts seem to me to be conclusive in themselves. 
Immersion is clearly and unequivocally expressed by baptidzo y 
and sprinkling and pouring are not expressed by that word, 
but could have been clearly expressed by words that would 
have been perfectly understood, if they had been in the mind 
of Christ or his apostles. 

Furthermore, the Greeks had a word to express the general 
application of water, regardless of the manner in which the 
application was made, namely, hudraino. If the Christ or the 
apostles had meant that baptism could be performed regard- 
less of the method of applying the water, they had a Greek 
word at their command to express that idea. If they had 
used the word hundraino we would understand that baptism 
could be performed by the application of water regardless of 
form, that is to say, it might be sprinkled or poured upon 
the subject, or it might overwhelm him, as in a bath. 

(< b ) Hebrew scholarship sustains this conclusion. 

(i) The Septuagint, a Greek version of the Old Testament 
Scriptures, made about 280 B. C., uses the word baptidzo to 
translate the Hebrew tabhal (pronounced taval). This word 
occurs sixteen times in the Hebrew Scriptures, and is every 
time rendered in English by dip or plunge. One example will 
be sufficient for illustration : “Then went he [Naaman] down 
and dipped [Hebrew, tabhal; Greek, baptidzo\ seven times in 


BAPTISM. 


159 


Jordan/' The use of the Greek baptidzo to translate the 
Hebrew tabhal , which invariably means to dip or plunge, 
shows what the Hebrew scholars understood it to mean. 

( 2 ) Josephus, the Jewish historian, born A. D. 37 , 
invariably uses the word baptidzo to express an immersion or 
an overwhelming. He speaks of immersing ( baptidzo ) a 
branch of hyssop in spring-water; of a ship just about to be 
submerged ( baptidzo ) ; of a young high-priest drowned by being 
continually pressed down ( baptidzo ) in a swimming bath ; of a 
man who suicided by plunging ( baptidzo ) his sword into his 
own bowels ; of waves rising so high that men were over- 
whelmed ( baptidzo ) by them ; of persons submerged ( baptidzo ) 
in the sea, being killed by darts or caught by the enemy, if 
they lifted their heads above water. The foregoing examples 
are abundant to show Josephus' understanding of the word. 

(3) Jewish proselytes were invariably immersed, according 
to the old commentary Siphre, the Talmud, and Maimonides. 
In these authorities, the root expressing the action is tabhal. 
Baptidzo would consequently express an action with which 
Jews in the time of Christ were already familiar. 

(c) The scholarship of the world from the apostolic day 
onward is clearly in accord with the foregoing conclusion. A 
few testimonies are here submitted, out of a vast number that 
might be adduced. We do not burden these pages with 
specific references to the works from which the quotations are 
taken. Any one desiring to verify the quotations can locate 
them without difficulty. All the passages from Greek authors 
can be found in “ Conant’s Baptidzein," and scores of others 
equally as strong and pertinent. 

( 1 ) Barnabas, who lived in the apostolic age, said in regard 
to baptism : “We indeed go down into the water." True, the 
writings ascribed to him are, in part at least, considered 
Apocryphal, but certainly they are of very early origin, or 
they would not have been attributed to him. 


160 


THE GREAT SAL VATION. 


(2) Hermas, in the first century, referring to baptism, said : 
“ We go down into the water.” 

(3) Justin Martyr, A. D. 140, “We represent our Lord’s 
suffering by baptism in a pool.” 

(4) Tertullian, an eminent Latin Father, 160 A. D., 
“ Know ye not that so many of us as were immersed [Lat., 
tingo\ into Christ Jesus were immersed [tingo] into his death, . . . 
for by an image we die in baptism [baptisma], but we truly rise 
in the flesh as also did Christ.” Referring to Christ’s 
commission, as recorded in Matt, xxviii. 19, he says : “And 
last of all commanding that they should be immersed [tingo] 
into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” He also says : “ Then 
we are three times immersed [Lat., mergo], answering some- 
what more than our Lord prescribed in the gospel.” Once 
more: “As of baptism [ baptisrnus ] itself there is a- bodily act 
that we are immersed [mergo] in water ; a spiritual effect that 
we are freed from sin. ” 

(5) Clement of Alexandria, A. D. 200: “You were led to 
a bath as Christ was conveyed to the sepulchre, and there thrice 
immersed, to signify Christ’s three days’ burial.” 

(6) Cypran, Bishop of Carthage, A. D. 200, in reference 
to baptism, speaks of being “bathed in salutary water.” 

(7) Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, A. D. 315, said: “The 
body is dipped in water.” 

(8) Ambrose, A. D. 340 : ‘ ‘ Thou wast asked, * Dost thou 
believe in God, the Father Almighty ?’ Thou saidst, 4 1 be- 
lieve,’ and thou didst sink down [mergo], that is, thou wast 
buried. ” 

(9) Athanasius, A. D. 328: “To immerse a child three 
times in a pool, or bath, and to emerse him ; this shows the 
death and resurrection of Christ on the third day.” 

(10) Gregory, of Nyssa, A. D. 328: “Coming into the 
water, the kindred element of the earth, we hide ourselves in 
it as the Saviour did in the earth.” 


BAPTISM, 


161 


(n) Jerome, called “the greatest of all expounders,” A. 
D. 342 : * 1 And thrice we are immersed \jnergo\ that there may 
appear one sacrament of the Trinity.” We are not concerned 
here about the question of trine-immersion. It is unquestion- 
ably true that some of the old church fathers fell into that error, 
but this in no way invalidates their testimony as to the fact of 
immersion. 

(12) Chrysostom, A. D. 347: “ To be baptized and to sink 
down, then to emerge, as a symbol of descent to the grave and 
ascent from it. And, therefore, Paul calls baptism a burial 
when he says : ‘We are therefore buried with him by baptism 
into death/” Also he says: “For a ship that has become 
filled with water is soon baptized and becomes deep under the 
waves.” 

(13) Cyril, A. D. 350: “Thou going down into the water, 
and in a manner buried in the waves as he in the rock, art 
raised again, walking in newness of life.” 

(14) Basil the Great, A. D. 370: “By three immersions 
we represent the death of Christ — the bodies of those that are 
baptized are buried in water.” 

Space forbids us to follow the line of witnesses closely, but 
the testimony is uniform. Passing over several centuries, we 
come to, — 

(15) Martin Luther, A. D. 1483: “Baptism is a sign of 
both death and resurrection. Being moved by this reason, I 
would advise those who are to be baptized to be altogether 
dipped into the water, as the word doth express and the mys- 
tery doth signify.” 

(16) Cranmer, the martyr, A. D. 1489: “The dipping 
into the water doth betoken that the old Adam, with all 
his sins and evil lusts, ought to be drowned and killed by daily 
contrition and repentance.” 

(17) John Calvin, A. D. 1509, after giving it as his opinion 
that the form is immaterial, says: “The very word baptize, 


f 


162 


THE GREA T SAL VA T/OAT. 


however, signifies immerse, and it is certain that immersion 
was the practice of the ancient churches.” 

(18) Grotius, A. D. 1583: ‘ * ‘ Buried with him by baptism' 
Not only the word baptism, but the very form of it, indicates 
this.” 

(19) Richard Baxter, A. D. 1615: “It is commonly con- 
fessed by us of the Anabaptists, as our commentators declare, 
that in the apostles’ times the baptized were dipped over head 
in the water.” 

(20) John Edwards, A. D. 1637: “The immersion into 
water was thought to signify the death of Christ, and their 
coming out his rising again, and did no less represent their own 
resurrection.” 

(21) John Wesley, A. D. 1703: “ Buried with him — allud- 
ing to the ancient manner of baptizing by immersion.” 

(22) George Whitfield, A. D. 1714: “It is certain that in 
the words of our text — Romans vi. 4 — there is an allusion to 
the manner of baptizing, which was immersion.” 

(23) George Campbell, A. D. 1719, says that one who 
argues that “ the word rendered in the New Testament baptize , 
means more properly to sprinkle than to plunge ” never fails, 
with persons of knowledge, to betray the cause he would 
defend. 

(24) MacKnight, A. D. 1721 : “In baptism, the baptized 
person is buried under water.” 

(25) Adam Clarke, A. D. 1762: “When he [the candi- 
date] came up out of the water he seemed to have a resurrec- 
tion to life.” 

(26) Moses Stuart, A. D. 1780: “Christians began some- 
what early to deflect from the ancient practice of immersion.” 

(27) Olshausen, A. D. 1796, in commenting on Romans vi. 
4, says: “The submersion merely prefigures the death and 
burial of the old man ; the second half — the emersion — the res- 
urrection of the new man.” 


baptism: 


163 


(28) Albert Barnes, A. D. 1798, in referring to Romans vi. 
4, says: “It is altogether probable that the apostle in this 
place had allusion to the custom of baptizing by immersion.’ ’ 

(29) Philip Schafif, A. D. 1819, says: “Respecting the 
form of baptism, therefore, the impartial historian is compelled 
by exegesis and history substantially to yield the point to the 
Baptists.” 

(30) Thayer, in his Greek New Testament Lexicon, says : 
“ In the New Testament it [baptism] is used particularly of the 
rite of sacred ablution, first instituted by John the Baptist, 
afterwards, by Christ's command, received by Christians and 
adjusted to the contents and nature of their religion, viz.: an 
immersion in water performed as a sign of the removal of sin, 
and administered to those who, impelled by a desire for salva- 
tion, sought admission to the benefits of the Messiah’s king- 
dom. 

Space forbids to multiply quotations farther. Scores of 
eminent scholars, scattered through all the centuries from the 
apostolic day onward to the present time, and representing the 
various Christian bodies almost without exception — certainly all 
the leading denominations — have testified in the plainest and 
most unequivocal way to the fact that immersion was the apos- 
tolic baptism. It may be said that the voice of scholarship is 
overwhelmingly, nay, almost universal, in favor of immersion 
and immersion only. If it be asked why so many of these 
scholars departed from the acknowledged apostolic custom, it 
may be answered that many regarded baptism as non-essential 
to salvation, and hence held the form to be a matter of 
indifference, while others defended affusion on the ground of 
church authority, claiming for the church the right to exercise 
discretionary power in such a case. This is true universally of 
Catholic authorities. 

( d ) The history of affusion is conclusive in favor of immer- 
sion. 


164 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION 


(1) Sprinkling was first administered for baptism in A. D. 
251, in the case of Novatian, a Roman presbyter. Being very 
sick, he was sprinkled in bed, as a substitute for immersion, 
which was considered impracticable in his case, as he lay in 
hourly expectation of death. His sprinkling did not receive 
the confirmation of the church authorities. He was elected to 
the office of bishop by his friends, in opposition to Cornelius, 
but his claim to the office was disputed by his rival, on account 
of the irregularity practiced in the matter of his baptism. 

(2) Stephen III. was Pope of Rome from 733 to 757. 
When the Lombards invaded the Duchy of Rome he was com- 
pelled to flee. He took refuge in Frankish territorjr with King 
Pepin. The monks of Cressy asked him whether pouring or 
sprinkling would be allowed for baptism in case of necessity, 
for infants, and he gave his consent. This, so far as we know, 
was the first sanction for the practice from the head of the 
Roman church. 

(3) In 13 1 1, the Council of Ravenna legalized sprinkling, 
leaving it to the choice of the officiating minister. For 
centuries prior to this, affusion had been practiced, but 
only in cases of necessity, as in the case of sick persons. It 
was called “ clinical ” baptism, because administered to sick 
persons ( Clinici ). Thus gradually the practice found its way 
into the church, and it seems passing strange, in view of these 
facts, that any one can be found to seriously contend for the 
practice on the ground that it is apostolic. A more baseless 
assumption can not well be imagined. 

(4) Catholic authorities are perfectly clear and consistent in 
this matter. Bishop Kenrick says : “ The change of discipline 
which has taken place in regard to baptism should not surprise 
us, for although the church is but the dispenser of the sacra- 
ments which her divine Spouse instituted, she rightfully 
exercises discretionary power as to the manner of their admin- 
istration.” Bossuet, in writing concerning a certain decree 


BAPTISM. 


165 


respecting another question — that of communion — says: “The 
case was much the same as baptism by immersion, as clearly 
grounded on Scripture as communion under both kinds could 
be, and which, nevertheless, had been changed into affusion with 
as much ease and as little contradiction as one kind was estab- 
lished, so that the same reason stood for retaining one as well 
as the other.” Cardinal Gibbons says : “For several centuries 
after the establishment of Christianity, baptism was usually 
conferred by immersion ; but since the twelfth century the 
practice of baptism by affusion has prevailed in the Catholic 
Church, as the manner is attended with less inconvenience than 
baptism by immersion.” 

( e ) The Greek Catholic Church has always practiced immer- 
sion exclusively. It is impossible to make people, well 
acquainted with the Greek, and dominated by the Greek influ- 
ence, believe that baptidzo means to sprinkle or pour. It would 
be just as easy to convince an Englishman that “to dip ” means 
“to sprinkle” or “to pour,” as to convince a Greek that 
baptidzo means the same as raino or cheo. 

It is a historic fact, established beyond the possibility of 
successful contradiction, that affusion had its origin in the Latin 
church about the middle of the third century, and that it 
became general in the Roman church much later, and was for- 
mally legalized in the beginning of the fourteenth century. 

2. The New Testament clearly determines what the action 
of baptism is. 

(i) It should be noticed that water is the element to be 
used. “ Can any man forbid water that these should not be 
baptized which have received the Holy Ghost, as well as we ?” 
(Acts x. 47). This was the language of Peter at the house of 
Cornelius, when the first Gentile converts were admitted to the 
kingdom of God. It seems strange that in the face of such 
language, any should claim that the baptism of the Holy 
Spirit is the only baptism, or the one baptism, taught in the 


166 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


New Testament. Here it is perfectly clear that water is the 
element Jesus commanded his disciples to be baptized. Man 
can obey this command if water is the element to be used, but 
obedience is impossible on the hypothesis that the baptism 
commanded is that of the Holy Spirit. This can not be per- 
formed by man, and hence we may safely conclude that Christ 
never commanded it as a work to be performed by man. 
How natural, therefore, for Peter to say: “Who can forbid 
water ?’ ’ 

(2) The candidate for baptism went to the water. ‘ ‘ Then 
went out unto him [John] Jerusalem and all Judsea, and all the 
region round about Jordan, and were baptized of him in the 
river Jordan, confessing their sins ” (Matt. iii. 5, 6). “And as 
they went on their way they came unto a certain water ; and the 
eunuch said, Behold, here is water ; what doth hinder me to be 
baptized?” (Acts viii. 36). “And he took them the same hour 
of the night and washed their stripes and was baptized, he and 
all his, immediately, and he brought them up into his house, 
and set meat before them” (Acts xvi. 33, 34). This refers to 
the baptism of the jailer. He had first brought Paul and Silas 
out of the prison before Paul preached. In all probability they 
went into the jailer’s house, §ince the household were obedient, 
and hence evidently heard the sermon. After baptism, he 
brought them into the house, which shows they must have . 
gone out to be baptized. When we consider that there is not 
a case of New Testament baptism where it is stated, or where 
we need to infer that the water was brought to the candidate 
for baptism, must we not conclude that the candidate invaria- 
bly went to the water ? 

(3) Much water was required. “And John was also bap- 
tizing in Enon near to Salim, because there was much water 
there ” (John iii. 23). This remark can only be explained on 
the hypothesis that John was practicing immersion. Affusion 
does not require “ much water.” 


BAPTISM. 


167 


(4) The candidate and the administrator went down into 
the water. “And they both went down into the water, both 
Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him” (Acts viii. 38). 

(5) They came up out of the water. ‘ ‘ And when they 
came up out of the water the Spirit of the Lord caught away 
Philip, and the eunuch saw him no more ” (Acts viii. 39). 

(6) It is a covering up. “ We were buried therefore with 
him through baptism into death” (Romans vi. 4). It is hard 
to conceive of being buried with Christ through baptism unless 
there was a covering up in baptism. The literal burial may be 
taken to indicate the metaphorical burial. 

3. The metaphorical usage of the word is conclusive in 
favor of immersion. 

(1) It is called a birth. Christ said to Nicodemus : “Ex- 
cept a man be born of water and the Spirit he can not enter 
into the kingdom of God” (John iii. 5). 

(2) It is called a burial. Romans vi. 4, already quoted, 
shows this. 

(3) It is called a resurrection. “ Having been buried with 
him in baptism wherein ye were also raised with him through 
faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead ” 
(Col. ii. 12). 

(4) It is called a planting. “For if we become united 
[planted, sumphutoi ] with him in the likeness of his death, we 
shall be also by the likeness of his resurrection ” (Romans vi. 5). 

(5) It is called a washing. “But ye were washed, but ye 
were sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of the Lord 
Jesus and in the Spirit of our God” (I. Corinthians vi. 11). 
“According to his mercy he saved us through the washing of 
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus iii. 5). 

From the foregoing quotations the following counts are 
gleaned concerning New Testament baptism : (1) Water is 

required. (2) The candidate went to the water. (3) Much 
water was required. (4) The candidate went down into the 


168 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


water. (5) He came up out of the water. (6) He was covered. 
It symbolizes : (7) A birth. (8) A burial. (9) A resurrection. 
(10) A planting. (11) A washing. Affusion meets one count 
only — the first. Water is the element. It does not require 
much water. The candidate is not required to go to the water, 
nor down into the water, nor to come up out of the water. 
He is not covered. It does not represent a birth, nor a burial, 
nor a resurrection, nor a planting, nor a washing. 

Immersion meets every count. It requires water, much 
water, the candidate goes to the water, down into the water, 
he comes up out of the water, he is covered. It represents a 
birth, a burial, a resurrection, a planting, and a washing. Is 
not the conclusion irresistible that immersion, and immersion 
only, is the New Testament baptism ? 

IV. The design of baptism. 

I. It is introductory. It is the institution appointed by 
Christ, by which its subjects are brought into a new relation- 
ship to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. “Go teach all 
nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit ” (Matthew xxviii. 18). “ Except a man be born 

of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom 
of God” (John iii. 5). This doubtless refers to the earthly 
kingdom, or the church. “Or are ye ignorant that all we 
who were baptized into the Lord Jesus Christ were baptized 
into his death ” (Romans vi. 3). To be baptized into Christ is 
to be baptized into his church or kingdom. It is to come into 
a new relationship to him. He is by this act the acknowledged 
Prophet, Priest, and King. “For in one Spirit were we all 
baptized into one body ” (I. Corinthians xii. 13). The body 
of Christ is his church, of which he is the head. “ For as 
many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ ” 
(Galatians iii. 27). It is therefore initiatory. These passages 
are conclusive on this point. 


BAPTISM. 


169 


2. It is for the remission of sins. 

(1) The commission according to Mark reads: “He that 
believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” We may learn from 
Luke’s statement of the commission what this salvation is: 
“Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and rise again 
from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission 
of sins should be preached in his name, unto all nations, begin- 
ning from Jerusalem.” The salvation referred to is, therefore, 
remission of sins, or in other words, pardon of sin. 

(2) Peter said, in his memorable Pentecostal sermon : “Re- 
pent ye and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus 
Christ unto the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive 
the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts ii. 38). This harmonizes 
with Christ’s language in the commission. The question, 
“What shall we do?” which the Pentecostal hearers pro- 
pounded was prompted by Peter’s sermon, in which he charged 
sin upon them. They were convicted, and asked : ‘ ‘ What 
shall we do?” Evidently they meant, what shall we do to be 
saved from our sins ? Peter named two conditions : repentance 
and baptism. They already believed, and hence we may gather 
that the baptism of penitent believers is for the remission of 
sins. 

(3) The conversion of Saul shows the design of baptism. 
Ananias said to him : “Arise and be baptized and wash away 
thy sins.” Saul had been told to go into the city, where he 
would learn what he must do. He went, and received the 
command to be baptized and wash away his sins. This is a 
figurative way of expressing remission of sins, hence we see 
that Saul received the same instructions that Peter gave to the 
Pentecostal enquirers. It is true that neither faith nor repent- 
ance is mentioned, but the reason is plain. In Saul’s case, 
both faith and repentance were present when Ananias came to 
him. He, therefore, commanded the only step yet remaining 
to be taken in order to remission of sins. 


170 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


(4) The same conclusion is reached when we consider that 
all spiritual blessings are realized in Christ and not out of him. 
Out of Christ there is no salvation promised. “If any man 
be in Christ he is a new creature : old things have passed away, 
behold all things have become new ” (II. Corinthians v. 17). 
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the 
forgiveness of sins” (Colossians i. 14; Galatians i. 7). “Who 
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in 
Christ” (Ephesians i. 3). It follows that not only forgiveness 
of sins, but all spiritual blessings, are found in Christ, and as 
baptism is the appointed ordinance by which the believing 
penitent gets into Christ, it is consequently for or unto remis- 
sion of sins. 

Baptism is very beautifully and appropriately called a birth. 
We are born into the kingdom by the birth of water and of 
Spirit ; as the new-born babe is sinless, so the new-born babe 
in Christ is freed from sin by the pardon of God. 

We are not, however, to understand that the meritori- 
ous cause of pardon lies in baptism; on the contrary, the 
blood of Christ alone cleanses from all sin. “ Christ died for 
our sins. ” “ Much more then being now justified by his blood 
we shall be saved from the wrath of God through him.” “ In 
whom we have our redemption through his blood the forgive- 
ness of our sins.” “ Unto him that loveth us and loosed us 
from our sins by his blood.” All this is clear and unequivocal. 
The merit lies in Christ’s blood. Baptism is simply a condi- 
tion upon which the blessing is obtained. It is the divinely 
appointed place where God meets the sinner, prepared by faith 
and repentance, and forgives his sins ; but the blood of Christ 
is the ground of pardon. The believing penitent is, therefore, 
baptized by the authority of Christ in water unto remission of 
sins and into Christ’s body, the church. He thus comes into 
a new relation with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and into 
the enjoyment of the fullness of spiritual blessings. 


BAPTISM. 


171 


3. It is designed as a symbol. That is, it is pictorial. 

(1) It is peculiarly fitting that the rite introducing us into a 
new life should symbolize the leading features of the change 
involved, especially when this change is radical. The Chris- 
tian man is called a new creature. “Old things have passed 
away: behold all things have become new.” It is impossible 
to conceive of anything more radical than the change involved 
in passing from the “kingdom of Satan” into the “kingdom 
of God’s dear Son.” Therefore, this change is called a death 
and resurrection, and also a birth. The individual dies to sin, 
and is resurrected to a life of holiness. The form of baptism 
beautifully represents this change. It is a burial and a resur- 
rection, or, to change the figure, a birth, and consequently 
symbolizes the corresponding spiritual facts. 

(2) This blessing is, however, made possible by the death, 
burial, and resurrection of Christ. Christ died for our sins, 
and rose for our justification. How beautifully appropri- 
ate, therefore, that the institution of initiation should sym- 
bolize the gospel facts. We are, therefore, in baptism buried 
and raised in the likeness of Christ’s burial and resurrection. 
Surely an institution so pictorially beautiful and suggestive is 
not unworthy of its divine origin, and it may well call forth, 
not only our profoundest respect, but our deepest reverence. 

But while the forgiveness of sins is important ; nay, indis- 
pensable, and baptism is the appointed place where the prop- 
erly prepared person comes into the enjoyment of this great 
favor, yet this is not the crowning blessing. To the baptized 
believer a great promise is given, viz., the gift of the Holy 
Spirit. Here is the climax of divine grace. All that goes 
before is preparatory to this, and out of this flows all the fruits 
of Christian life. We are, therefore, naturally led, in the next 
place, to consider the subject of the Holy Spirit, and to this 
supreme subject the following chapter is devoted. 


CHAPTER X. 


THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.* 

Introduction : When Moses came to the burning bush the 
Lord spoke to him in these impressive words : * ‘ Put off thy 
shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is 
holy ground.” Surely in coming to the investigation of such 
a subject as this the admonition given to Moses may not be 
inapplicable. Let us approach this study with a reverential 
spirit, realizing that we are treading on holy ground. Let us 
come with sincere purpose and earnest desire to know the 
truth, and let us, with meekness, hear and receive the divine 
instruction concerning this all-important matter. 

I. If we have ever had any doubt as to the importance or 
practical nature of this question, all such doubts will be dis- 
pelled by even a brief survey of Bible teaching along this line. 
No student of the New Testament can have failed to notice 
the conspicuous place given to it in the teaching and preaching 
of Christ and his apostles. In almost every chapter this sub- 
ject, in some of its phases, is intruded upon the attention. 

(i) John, the beloved disciple of our Lord, who seems to 
have comprehended more fully than any other apostle the 
spiritual nature of Christ’s kingdom, said : “ Hereby we know 
that he [Christ] abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath given 
us.” Also : “ Hereby we know that we dwell in him, and he 

* A subject of such magnitude and importance can not be satisfactorily treated in the 
limits of a single chapter. We refer the reader to the work entitled “ The Office of the Holy- 
Spirit," by R. Richardson, for a more comprehensive treatment of the subject. I have received 
much valuable assistance from this work in the preparation of this chapter, and I know of no* 
better treatise on the subject. 

172 


THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 


173 


in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.” These passages 
teach that conscious fellowship with Christ is secured through 
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

( 2 ) Paul, in writing to the Ephesians, says: “In whom 
after that ye believed ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of 
promise which is the earnest of our inheritance until the 
redemption of the purchased possession.” Here Paul makes 
the reception of the Holy Spirit the official seal of our title to 
the purchased possession. He also says to the Galatians, 
“Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law or by the 
hearing of faith,” thus virtually declaring the great and final 
aim of the gospel ministration to be the impartation of the 
Holy Spirit. In the light of such scriptures, and many others 
equally striking, it would seem well nigh impossible for us to 
magnify in our minds too greatly the importance that attaches 
to this subject. To ignore it is to ignore the most prominent 
Bible theme, and one that sustains intimate and vital relations 
to the whole question of human redemption. Whoever 
despises this subject shuts himself out from the richest and most 
productive fields of Bible truth, and thereby disqualifies him- 
self from receiving a comprehensive, clear, harmonious, and con- 
sistent view of Bible teaching. Nay, more ; he deprives himself 
of the sweetest and profoundest enjoyments of the Christian life. 

2. It may be well just here to call attention to an impres- 
sion that prevails as to the mysterious character of this subject. 
While the importance of the theme would, no doubt, be 
generally conceded, yet there is a popular idea that it is very 
dark and difficult, if not entirely incomprehensible, and con- 
sequently many have been deterred from giving to it any 
serious thought or earnest study. Others try to explain away 
everything that seems mysterious, or that is too deep for the 
sounding line of human reason, and thus reduce the whole 
question to a rationalistic basis, and bring every phase of the 
subject within the ready compass of the powers of the human 


174 


THE GREA T SAL VA TJON. 


mind. This is certainly a most unreasonable undertaking. 
Without any question there are serious difficulties to be 
encountered in such an investigation. Mysteries present them- 
selves which seem to baffle human understanding, and are, no 
doubt, too deep for the finite mind to grasp in its present 
environment, but it is not true that there are few subjects 
entirely free from mystery? Even in matters pertaining to 
the purely physical world, mysteries abound which have defied 
the solution of the most gifted minds. With all our boasted 
science we can scarcely be said to have done more than give 
names to natural processes and forces, of the real nature of 
which we know almost nothing. We talk about attractive 
and repellant forces, chemical affinity, cohesion, capillary 
attraction, gravitation, animal and vegetable life, etc., all of 
which are but names for mysteries — convenient coverings 
under which to hide our ignorance. If mystery thus abounds 
in the lower world, much more might we expect to find it as 
we ascend from the physical into the spiritual domain. Espe- 
cially is this true when we come with our finite powers to 
grapple with the infinities of the Deity. There are some 
things that we can not understand, but which we must never- 
theless accept. To receive them involves less of mystery than 
to reject them. It is, however, true that this subject of the 
Holy Spirit is treated of extensively in the sacred Scriptures, 
and constitutes, therefore, an important part of revealed 
truth, and is consequently a legitimate subject of inquiry. 
Whatever aspects of this question fall within the range of the 
human understanding may and should become a part of our 
religious knowledge. We will consider, — 

I. The agency of the Spirit as revealed in the Old Testament 
Scriptures. 

No doubt the New Testament constitutes the richest field 
of inquiry respecting this subject, but it will be quite useful 


THE MINISTR Y OF THE HOL Y SPIRIT. 175 

and interesting to briefly note some of the general aspects of 
the subject as developed in the Scriptures of the Old Testa- 
ment, and especially under the Mosaic economy. In the very 
opening sentences of Genesis we read, “And the Spirit of 
God moved” (marginal reading, “was brooding”) “upon the 
face of the waters.” Here the Spirit of God is represented as 
the active agent in the creation of the material world. Job 
says : 4 * The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the 
Almighty hath given me life. ” In this passage, physical life 
is referred to the Spirit of God as its source. Also, to the 
Spirit of God is referred the wisdom of Joseph which he dis- 
played in the interpretation of dreams ; the wisdom shown by 
Joshua in his conquest of Canaan ; and the executive wisdom 
of Solomon, manifested in his administration of the kingdom. 
It is also represented as striving with men who had aposta- 
tized; as qualifying men to perform miracles in attestation of 
some divinely appointed mission work ; as giving unto men 
prophetic power, as displayed by the many Old Testament 
prophets ; as even granting to men mechanical skill ; as impart- 
ing the spirit of valor ; and in one case, as bestowing superior 
physical strength. In short, all extraordinary gifts and powers 
of body and mind are referred to this divine Spirit. Nor 
were its powers confined to men. Moses’ rod had imparted to 
it peculiar powers by the Spirit. To Elijah’s bones by the 
same agency was given the power to restore a dead body to 
life, and to Balaam’s ass was granted the power of human 
speech. It is important to note that the Spirit was given to 
some, taken from others, but never promised as a blessing 
available to all upon plainly expressed conditions. What 
expectation is, therefore, aroused by the prophecy of Joel, 
which foretells of its outpouring upon all flesh which would 
take place under the glorious reign of Christ ! By this brief 
reference to the work of the Spirit as revealed in the Old Tes- 
tament we are prepared to see the marked difference in the 


176 


THE GEE A 7 SALVATION. 


office and work of the Spirit as revealed under the new dispen- 
sation. It may safely be said that the agency of the Spirit 
under the Mosaic economy seems to be confined chiefly to the 
work of inspiring and miraculously endowing the prophets 
and special individuals for their great and important work, and 
that its manifestation looks to the accomplishment of special, 
extraordinary, and, in a certain sense, temporary ends ; import- 
ant and wonderful it is true, but subordinate and preparatory. 
It was confined to a narrow circle, and its manifestations were 
chiefly, if not entirely, of a miraculous character. This natur- 
ally leads us to notice, — 

II. The prominence given to this subject in the personal 
ministry of Christ. 

i. The prophetic utterances bearing on Christ’s spiritual 
qualifications are clear and emphatic. Seven hundred and fifty 
years before the birth of Christ, the Prophet Isaiah foretold the 
fullness of spiritual endowment that should characterize the 
Messiah in the following plain and explicit language : ‘ 4 There 
shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a 
branch out of his roots shall bear fruit; and the spirit of the 
Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and under- 
standing, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of 
knowledge and of the fear of the Lord ” (Isa. xi. 1-5). Also 
we read these most thrilling words from the same prophet: 
“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord 
hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek ; he 
hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim lib- 
erty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that 
are bound ; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and 
the day of vengeance of our God ; to comfort all that mourn ; 
to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a 
garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of 
praise for the spirit of heaviness ; that they might be called 


THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 177 

trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might 
be glorified ” (Isa. lxi. 1-3). Such wonderful predictions lay 
well the foundation for the many New Testament utterances 
relative to the spiritual endowment of Christ. At the time of 
his baptism the Holy Spirit descended in visible form, and 
abode upon him, by which sign John, the harbinger, had been 
told he should recognize the Messiah. Soon after this wonder- 
ful event, Christ, in speaking to an audience composed of his 
own townspeople, quotes the prophecy from Isaiah, already 
referred to, and appropriates it to himself by declaring that it 
was that day fulfilled in their ears. Also it is clearly taught ! 

2. That Christ’s work was accomplished through the agency 
of the Spirit. From the time of his baptism onward, his 
whole life and work seemed to be under the control and guid- 
ance of the Holy Spirit. “ He was led by the Spirit into the 
wilderness” (Luke iv. 1), where he was tempted; and he 
returned “in the power of the Spirit” (Luke iv. 14). His 
miracles were wrought through the agency of the Spirit. His 
words were said to be the words of God, because “ God giveth 
not the Spirit by measure unto him ” (John iii. 34). Even his 
final great sin-offering was made, we are told, by the “Eternal 
Spirit,” and his resurrection was accomplished by the same 
agency. It thus appears that the Spirit of God was the effec- 
tive power in the life, teaching, and work of Christ. We are 
thus prepared for the declaration of Paul that: “ In him dwell- 
eth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” 

3. However, this supreme possession of spiritual presence 
and power was not to be confined to Christ alone. It was the 
Divine purpose that this great blessing should be brought 
within the reach of all who would avail themselves of the 
gracious gift. The Scripture teaching on this point is plain 
and unmistakable. God said to John the Baptist: “Upon 
whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and abiding 
upon him, the same is he that baptizeth with the Holy Spirit ” 


178 


THE GEE AT SALVATION. 


(John i. 33). The manifest and necessary deduction from this 
language is that the special characteristic function of Christ 
would be to baptize in the Holy Spirit. John himself said, in 
speaking of his coming: “He shall baptize you in the Holy 
Spirit and in fire ” (Matt. iii. 1 1). The time and manner of this 
announcement indicates that the baptizing here referred to would 
be at least one of the characteristics, if not the distinguish- 
ing feature, of Christ’s ministry. I am aware that some regard 
this as a prophecy that was fulfilled on Pentecost by the out- 
pouring of the Spirit and the miraculous accompaniments, con- 
spicuous among which were the “tongues parting asunder 
like as of fire,” but this view is certainly unwarranted by the 
facts. This function of Christas ministry — which was strikingly 
set forth by God in the utterance above quoted, and also by 
John in language addressed not to a few persons, but to a great 
concourse of people, both Pharisees and Sadducees — certainly 
could not have exhausted itself in the bestowment of temporary 
spiritual gifts confined to a very few individuals. If we 
remember that John had before him two classes, the one honest 
and sincere, the other selfish and insincere, and that in 
referring to the coming One, he represents him as separating 
these classes, gathering the one class — the wheat — into his 
garner, but destroying the other — the chaff — with fire, we will 
be able to understand the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the 
baptism by fire to which John refers. To me it seems far 
more reasonable to refer this language to a double function, 
exercised by Christ in blessing the one class by what is figur- 
atively called a baptism of the Spirit, and in punishing the 
other by a baptism of fire. This also harmonizes with the 
prophetic view of Christ’s office, which represents him as pro- 
claiming “the acceptable year of the Lord,” and also “the 
day of vengeance of our God. M In this language the double 
ofifice is pointed out. 


THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 179 

That the dispensation of the Spirit to believers was one of 
the important functions of Christ is further established by many 
of his utterances, as recorded by the evangelists. On one 
occasion he said to his disciples: “If ye then being evil know 
how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more will 
the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask 
him ?” This would seem to be further explained by his language 
on another occasion : “ If any man thirst let him come unto me 
and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scriptures hath 
said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this 
spake he of the Spirit which they that believed on him were to 
receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was 
not yet glorified.” Again he says: “ If I go not away the 
Comforter will not come, but if I go away I will send him unto 
you.” Christ explains, in other passages in the same connec- 
tion, that the Comforter is the Holy Spirit, and also calls him 
the Spirit of truth. Space, however, forbids me to multiply 
these passages, which are familiar to every Bible student. 

This branch of the subject may be summed up in these 
statements : (i) That Christ possessed the Spirit in all fullness, 
i. e., without measure; (2) that his work was accomplished 
through the agency of the Spirit ; and (3) that he has become 
the dispenser of the Holy Spirit to others through the means 
and agencies that he has ordained. Just here it is necessary, in 
order to anything like a clear and intelligent understanding of 
this question, for us to note, — 

III. A distinction that exists between the special extraor- 
dinary gifts of the Spirit, and the abiding gift of the Spirit, 
which Christ promised to his disciples, and which constitutes 
the crowning blessing of the new institution. 

1. Christ, in language addressed to his disciples before his 
crucifixion, which has been already quoted, gives them a 
promise of a great spiritual blessing not before enjoyed. 


180 


THE GEE AT SALVATION , . 


“ Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you 
that I go away : for if I go not away the Comforter will not 
come unto you ; but if I go away I will send him unto you.” 
Another passage declares: “The Holy Spirit was not yet 
given because Jesus was not yet glorified.” This language 
clearly points to the coming of something entirely new, which 
Christ calls the Holy Spirit, which could not come so long as 
Christ remained, and must consequently have been very differ- 
ent from the extraordinary manifestations of the Spirit. These 
had been witnessed in great profusion during the personal 
ministry of Christ, and had been seen in greater or less abund- 
ance at different times under the previous dispensations. In 
fact, it may be said th6y belong to all dispensations, and seem 
to have performed much the same function in each. All of 
these special manifestations were of a miraculous character, 
and had a special object in view, and were in no sense abid- 
ing gifts. 

2 . A clear distinction, then, exists, and should be kept in 
mind. Paul said, “Whether there be prophecies they shall 
be done away, whether there be tongues they shall cease, 
whether there be knowledge [no doubt referring to miraculous 
knowledge] it shall be done away,” but the new gift which 
Christ was to send was to abide forever. These special powers 
were given as the Holy Spirit pleased, sometimes in one way 
and sometimes in another, sometimes to righteous and some- 
times to wicked persons, and even to inanimate objects. We 
can see no reason why these special spiritual gifts might not 
be given to, or taken from, one enjoying the permanent gift 
without in any way affecting it. Any agency, whether intel- 
lectual, moral or physical, might be employed by the Spirit of 
God, and endowed with temporary miraculous powers for 
special purposes, and such operations seemed entirely inde- 
pendent of the abiding gift promised by Christ, and which is 
the great distinguishing characteristic of his dispensation. 


THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 181 

(i) The superiority ascribed to the gift promised by Christ 
serves to bring out this difference in still stronger light. The 
disciples to whom Christ made the promise of sending another 
Comforter had, before this time, been marvelously endowed 
with these miraculous powers. To them had been given the 
power to cure diseases, cast out devils, tread on serpents with 
impunity, and drink deadly poison without injury, and yet they 
were not in the enjoyment of that crowning spiritual blessing 
called the Comforter, or Spirit of truth, and which Christ 
distinctly says they could not have so long as he remained 
with them. He even declares that this promised blessing is so 
great that even his leaving them would be expedient for them 
in order that the blessing might be enjoyed. When we 
remember how great a blessing Christ had been to these 
followers of his ; how they leaned on him for support ; how 
they looked to him for guidance, even as little children look to 
a parent; and how strongly they were united to him by bonds 
of tenderest love ; how he had become to them more than all 
others and all else; and then also remember that all these 
wondrous blessings, which were realized in the personal 
fellowship of Christ, were to be more than made good after 
Christ’s departure by the descent of the Spirit, something of 
the magnitude of this blessing begins to dawn upon us. 
Wonderful as it may seem, the Christian of to-day, in the 
enjoyment of the indwelling presence of the Spirit, has a 
greater blessing than Christ’s personal bodily presence on 
earth could be to him. Nay, is it not thus that Christ comes 
to us, and makes his abode with us, and thus becomes our 
abiding, constant companion and friend ? It thus appears how 
the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the 
Baptist, whom Christ declared to be equal to any born of 
woman, and who was filled with the Holy Spirit in the special 
sense referred to, but who passed away like the other prophets 
of Israel without having enjoyed the priceless gift vouchsafed 


182 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


to the believer under the reign of Christ. These special spir- 
itual endowments should, therefore, be clearly discriminated 
from the indwelling of the Spirit. Their mission was simply 
confirmatory and temporary under all dispensations, and might 
be possessed by an individual without even entitling him to 
the blessings of salvation. 

(2) This distinction between the extraordinary miraculous 
endowments of the Spirit, and the gift of the Spirit promised 
by Christ, is also shown by the fact that these special gifts might 
become a source of injury to the possessor by filling him with 
pride and vainglory. On one occasion the disciples who had 
been sent out by Christ on a mission, and endowed with this 
miraculous gift, returned to him evidently in a proud, exultant 
spirit, glorying in their phenomenal power, and said, “ Even the 
devils are subject unto us in thy name." Christ warns them of 
their danger by saying, “Rejoice not that spirits are subject 
unto you, but that your names are written in heaven.” It 
seems also that the disciples at Corinth had fallen into this same 
fault. Possessing various spiritual endowments, great conten- 
tion arose among them as to the comparative excellence of 
their respective gifts. Paul writes a letter to correct this evil. 
He does not disparage this class of gifts, but shows their real 
object, and points the possessors of them to something which he 
calls more excellent, and which he designates by the term love. 
This love which Paul contrasts with the special gifts is one of the 
fruits of that Spirit promised to all believers, and thus its superi- 
ority over special gifts, in the mind of the apostle, is shown. 

We are now ready to consider, — 

IV. The final step in the progressive unfolding of the Divine 
plan for the salvation of men in which the great purpose of 
grace is realized. 

1. How gradually has the light of Divine truth been shed 
upon the world. In the beginning God saw fit to give a few 


THE MINISTR Y OF THE HOL Y SPIRIT . 133 

obscure promises, a few simple types. Long ages rolled by, 
while men walked in the dim twilight, until the world was 
ready for a fuller light. Then a clearer promise, was given ; a 
peculiar people was chosen to whom was committed a com- 
plicated system of types and shadows ; a civil and religious 
code; a sanctuary in which dwelt the symbolic presence of 
God ; a ritual of wondrous beauty, and a priesthood of Divine 
appointment. Again long ages rolled by, while from time to 
time mighty prophets appeared, inspired by God, to speak his 
words of exhortation, warning, and promise, but still the per- 
fect light had not come, and the fullness of blessing was not 
enjoyed. The world waited in expectancy for something 
promised, but as yet but faintly comprehended. Finally the 
dawn of a new and brighter day appeared. A new light 
is illuminating the moral heavens. Behold, “the Sun of 
righteousness has risen with healing his beams." Now type 
is to give place to antetype, shadow to substance, symbol to 
reality. The law which Paul declares was a school- master has 
done its great work of preparation. The office of the pedagogue 
is fulfilled ; the world is passing to its fuller inheritance. No 
longer will it be a question as to whether men shall worship 
in Jerusalem, or on Gerizim, but the whole earth will be a 
temple, and every spot where man may stand an altar from 
which the true spiritual incense may ascend to God. Angel 
voices are now heard by Judaean shepherds, singing, “Glory 
to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will to 
men." The infant Jesus, the world’s Redeemer, sleeps in the 
Bethlehem manger. Intent on his Father’s business he stands 
and disputes with the lawyers and doctors. Loyal to every 
Divine requirement he comes from Galilee to Jordan to the 
baptism of John. Filled with wisdom he sits in the mountain 
and utters those words for which the ages had waited. Burn- 
ing with love and sympathy he goes through the cities and 
villages healing men’s maladies, comforting the sorrowing, and 


184 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


preaching the gospel to the poor ; yea, as has been beautifully 
and truthfully said, “He walks the earth in the sight of men 
and angels, and shows how great and grand a thing a man 
maybe.” True to his mission, and loyal to God and man, 
he endures the cross and despises the shame, and thus accom- 
plishing the great sin offering. Finally having vanquished 
death, he rises a triumphant conqueror, “ bringing life and 
immortality to light.” 

2. The gift of the Holy Spirit, bestowed in accordance 
with the promise of Christ, stands out with wonderful prom- 
inence in the Divine record. It may be said to constitute an 
epoch in the history of redemption. It was a new manifesta- 
tion of the Divine presence among men. Jesus had said: “If 
ye love me, ye will keep my commandments, and I will pray 
the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he 
may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth. ” Also : 
“If a man love me he will keep my word, and my Father will 
love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with 
him.” “It is expedient that I go away, for if I go not away 
the Comforter will not come, but if I go I will send him unto 
you. ” This Comforter referred to by Christ was to take the 
place of his personal presence. Through this Comforter God 
and Christ were to come and dwell perpetually in the hearts 
of the faithful. 

3. One more preparatory step remained to be taken before 
the great and consummating blessing could be enjoyed. Christ 
had not yet been glorified, and this must needs take place 
before the great gift could be bestowed. But Jesus has told 
his disciples that he is going; he has prayed to God that he 
may be glorified with the glory he had with the Father before 
the world was ; he has given his last commission, and spoken 
tis last words. Now he ascends on high, “ leading captivity 
captive,” accompanied by an escort of celestial spirits. The 
gates of the heavenly Jerusalem open to receive him, and he 


THE M1NISTR Y OF THE HOL Y SPIRIT. 


185 


is by the right hand of God, exalted and crowned “King 
of kings, and Lord of lords.” The last remaining condition 
in order to the fulfillment of the promise is now realized ; let 
us with expectancy await the issue. 

4. Our anticipation is met on the day of Pentecost. 
“Tarry ye in Jerusalem until ye are endued with power from 
on high,” Jesus had said. “And when the day of Pentecost was 
now come, they were all together in one place, and suddenly 
there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty 
wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting, and 
there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder like as of 
fire, and it sat upon each one of them and they were all filled 
with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues 
as the Spirit gave them utterance.” This, says Peter to the 
multitude, is the fulfillment of the prophecy made by Joel, — 
“And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth 
my Spirit upon all flesh. And your sons and your daughters 
shall prophesy. And your young men shall see visions. And 
your old men shall dream dreams. Yes, and on my servants 
and on my handmaidens in those days, will I pour forth of 
my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.” Many, having believed 
the preaching of Peter, were pricked in their hearts and said 
unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall 
we do?” Peter said unto them, “Repent ye and be baptized 
everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission 
of your sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. *’ 
This is something entirely new in the history of redemption. 
Never before, under any dispensation, had such a promise been 
made on such conditions. Never before had such blessings 
been enjoyed. How beautifully this accords with the promise 
of Christ to his disciples before he left the earth, and how prompt 
was this fulfillment after he had ascended on high. 

5. But this great gift was not to be limited to a narrow 
circle. Lest the Jews in their ignorance and prejudice should 


186 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


appropriate this great blessing to themselves, God breaks 
down the middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile, 
and bestows this supreme favor also upon the Gentile world. 
The house of Cornelius is the chosen place, and Peter again 
God’s chosen instrument to announce unto the Gentiles repent- 
ance unto life. Here again the same marvelous signs, at least 
in part, attended the outpouring of the Spirit that were pres- 
ent on Pentecost. Peter afterward, in giving a history of the 
case, declared: “The Holy Spirit fell on them as on us at the 
beginning. ” 

6. The signs that accompanied the outpouring of the 
Spirit on the two occasions have led some to the conclu- 
sion that the impartation of miraculous power was the whole 
purpose of this outpouring, and that the whole blessing is 
exhausted in the bestowment of these special gifts. Can this 
be true ? If so, in what sense was this outpouring a fulfillment 
of Joel’s prophecy which was to take place in the last days? 
Miraculous endowments had been abundant, both before and 
after Joel’s time, and were especially so during the personal 
ministry of Christ. If the miraculous endowment exhausts 
this whole blessing, in what sense was it a new visitation? 
How could the Spirit be said to have come now, for the first 
time, if it were simply for the purpose of miraculous endow- 
ment? How could that constitute an epoch which was but 
the repetition in substance, with perhaps some variations in 
manifestation, of that which had repeatedly taken place in 
all ages? How could Jesus say, “ If I go not away the Spirit 
will not come, but if I go away I will send him unto you,” if 
this bestowment of the Spirit were the same in kind that they 
had previously enjoyed? 

Is it not reasonable to look upon these signs as merely 
confirmatory of a new spiritual presence that came in fulfill- 
ment of prophecy, and of the promise of Christ, constituting 
the crowning blessing of the new institution, and which very 


THE MINISTR Y OF THE HOT Y SPIRIT. 187 

appropriately manifests itself as the portion of the believer on 
the birthday of the church? How reasonable it seems that 
the promised Spirit, having come to dwell in the heart, should 
manifest its presence by outward and visible signs which were 
but temporary and destined to pass away without in any way 
affecting the enjoyment of the permanent abiding gift. If it 
be asked why miraculous signs on this occasion are taken as 
confirmatory of a new spiritual presence, while miraculous 
manifestations that occurred previous to . this time, are not 
confirmatory of any such presence, I answer, that miraculous 
signs are always confirmatory of the thing for the establish- 
ment of which they were wrought. If wrought in attestation 
of some special claim, or mission, they establish that claim, 
or mission, and not something else. Moses’ miracles establish 
his peculiar claims, but not the claims of some other person, 
or the fulfillment of some promise in no way connected with 
his office or work. Christ’s miracles establish his claims, but 
not the fulfillment of a promise which he distinctly says could 
not be fulfilled while he lived on earth. In this case the signs 
verify the fulfillment of the promise of Christ concerning the 
gift of the Spirit. Peter evidently so understood the matter, 
for he said (referring to Christ): “Being therefore by the 
right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father 
the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath shed forth this which 
ye see and hear.” Evidently the visible and audible signs 
were confirmatory in Peter’s mind of the promised spiritual visi- 
tation. That Peter connected this spiritual endowment with 
the promise of Christ is shown by the fact that he expressly 
declares it to have been shed forth by him. Now when we 
remember that this promise of Christ could not be referred 
simply to miraculous spiritual endowment, nor could it have 
been limited simply to the apostles, for he said it should abide 
forever, thus becoming a blessing for all generations, we ought 
to grasp the entirety of this case. First the apostles, and 


188 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


possibly the one hundred and twenty, were put into the enjoy- 
ment of the Holy Spirit according to Christ’s promise, and 
this fact was miraculously attested by signs. Then since the 
promise w&s not confined to them, but was intended for all 
believers under the new dispensation, Peter preached the 
gospel, reiterating Christ’s promise of the gift of the Spirit, 
and naming the conditions upon which it could be enjoyed. 
A large number believed and obeyed, and doubtless came 
into possession of the same gift which the apostles, or the one 
hundred and twenty, as the case maybe, had just received. 
In the latter case, miraculous signs were, no doubt, wanting, 
since there was no use for them, the fulfillment of the promise 
having been already verified by signs just witnessed. For 
the same reason no one should expect miraculous signs at 
the present time, since a reconfirmation of Christ’s promise 
is unnecessary, and would not make it more sure. When 
a case has been decided in court, people years afterward 
do not call up the original witnesses, but go to the record. 
So here the witness has been given, and it is a matter of 
record. 

That these miraculous signs v/itnessed on Pentecost served 
other purposes in addition to the confirmation of Christ’s 
promise, I do not doubt. In the very nature of the case this 
would be true. They served to attract attention, to draw the 
people together, to invest the apostles with dignity and author- 
ity, in the eyes of the multitude, and by their special character 
to qualify the apostles to speak with tongues ; but this fact in 
no way contravenes the notion that they indicated the presence 
in the heart of the Paraclite or Comforter, which now, for the 
first time, was enjoyed by men. 

It may be well to notice a certain materialistic tendency 
manifested by some in dealing with this question, (i) The 
question of how greatly troubles persons of a certain mental 
type. They stagger at this promise of Christ concerning the 


I HE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 


189 


indwelling of the Comforter, and try in various ways to explain 
it away. How, says one, can the Holy Spirit dwell in a 
human being ? How can it be present in all believers at the 
same time ? Why does it not give some sensible evidence of 
its presence? Such persons are manifestly demanding that 
spiritual phenomena shall be subject to purely sensuous tests. 
This is manifestly impossible, and persons who insist on apply- 
ing sensuous tests by this very process exclude from the account 
all spiritual facts and phenomena. Their method disqualifies 
them from understanding this subject, and consequently from 
passing judgment upon it. (2) Other expounders press into 
service the following figurative language of Christ: “The 
words that I have spoken unto you are spirit and life.” And 
from this they deduce the doctrine that the Spirit is equivalent 
to the word. Hence, in this view, to have the Spirit means 
simply to have or to remember the word. How utterly desti- 
tute of foundation such a theory is, a single quotation from 
Christ’s language will show. In referring to the Spirit he says : 
“Whom the world can not receive.” But can not the world 
receive the word, and did not Christ commission his disciples to 
preach to the world? Paul said: “The sword of the Spirit is 
the word of God.” This theory makes no distinction between 
the agent, or author, and the instrument, confounding the one 
with the other. (3) It should also be noted that the same 
tests that some insist upon applying to the question of the 
Holy Spirit, would lead to the denial of the existence of 
the human spirit, and even rob God of his attributes. How, 
we might ask, can the human spirit dwell in the human 
body ? What connection can it have with material things ? 
How can God be omnipresent? Thus it will be seen that 
there is no stopping place for him who denies the possi- 
bility of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit this side of bald 
materialism. 


190 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


We must now hasten to consider very briefly, — 

V. To whom the Spirit is given and on what conditions. 

On this point the Scriptures are most explicit. We learn 
from the language of Christ, — 

1. That he is not given to the world. “I will pray the 
Father, and he will give you another Comforter, even the 
Spirit of Truth whom the world can not receive because it 
seeth him not, neither knoweth him.” On the other hand, — 

2. The Spirit is given to believers. “ He that believeth on 
me as the Scriptures hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers 
of water.” “ But this spake he of the Spirit which they that 
believe on him should receive.” This makes it clear that be- 
lievers receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Paul bears testi- 
mony to the same effect. In writing to the Ephesians, he 
says : “In whom having also believed ye were sealed with 
the Holy Spirit of promise.” These scriptures are so clear 
that comment is unnecessary. We also learn, — 

3. That obedience is a condition of reception. In his speech 
before the council, Peter, in the course of his remarks, said : 
“And we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy 
Spirit, which God hath given to them that obey him. ” On 
Pentecost he said: “Repent ye and be baptized every one 
of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of 
your sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” 
In both passages obedience is made a condition of the reception 
of the Spirit. In another passage, from the language of Christ 
we find, — 

4. That the Spirit is promised on the conditon of prayer. 
“If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your 
children how much more shall your heavenly Father give the 
Holy Spirit to them that ask him.” This, of course, perfectly 
harmonizes with the other conditions, since no unbeliever or 
disobedient person would offer such a prayer. One other 


THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 


191 


passage should be taken into account, in which this most 
precious gift is represented, — 

5. As a matter of Divine favor and mercy. 

Paul, in writing to Titus, says: “For when the kindness 
of God our Saviour and his love toward man appeared, not by 
works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but 
according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of 
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he poured 
out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.” The 
gift of the Holy Spirit is thus made the crowning blessing in 
God’s system of grace and mercy. 

Not only is the gift of the Spirit a matter of grace, but 
the whole question of salvation rests finally on the favor and 
love of God. 

It may give us a clearer understanding of this subject, and 
relieve us from some misapprehensions to consider, — 

VI. Source of the gift and manner of its impartation. 

We have already learned from the language of John that, — 

1. Christ alone could administer the baptism of the Spirit. 
John could baptize in water, Christ commissioned his disciples 
to baptize in water, but to no man was granted the power of 
administering the baptism of the Spirit. May not this fact 
serve to explain why Jesus did not baptize in water, since that 
was a function that could be imparted to men, while the other 
and higher baptism could not ? At least it may be said that 
this beautifully accords with the Divine method everywhere 
manifest, and nowhere more strikingly so than in the dispen- 
sation of Christ. God does for man what he can not do for 
himself. It is so in nature, and it would seem to be the rule 
adopted in the system of grace. Man could not atone for 
sin, so Christ does it for him ; but having accomplished the 
facts of the gospel, he does not remain on earth to preach this 
gospel, or to baptize, but commissions men to do this work, 


192 


THE GEE AT SAL VAT/OH. 


and he seems to be very careful not to interfere in this work. 
He would not preach to Paul, but sent him to the human 
agent, Ananias. He would not preach to the eunuch, but 
sent Philip to do it. He would not allow an angel to preach 
to Cornelius, but directed him to send for Peter. In harmony 
with this principle, if men were to be baptized in water his 
disciples might do it, but when the Spirit was to be given, 
Christ was the agent in its impartation. It may be thought 
that because the Spirit was in some instances conferred 
through the laying on of the hands of the apostles, that the 
gift of the Spirit was not therefore the exclusive prerogative 
of Christ; but it should be borne in mind that this work was 
accomplished by the apostles as mediate and not as immediate 
agents. The apostles might pray and lay their hands on those 
who were proper subjects to receive the Holy Spirit, but it 
was not within their power to give the Spirit. It had to be 
sent by Christ, or by God in Christ’s name. It was a great 
dignity to be associated even in this secondary way in the 
bestowment of this gift, but it was an honor conferred on the 
apostles and on a very few especially chosen individuals. 

2. It is also clear that the Spirit is given in different meas- 
ures. It is said of Christ, that the Spirit was granted to him 
without measure. This language suggests such a thing as 
granting the Spirit by measure ; and if so, why not in different 
measures? May it not also be true that it is possible to 
possess a fuller measure of the Spirit at one time than at 
another? Nay, more; is there not danger of losing this most 
precious gift? Does not the apostle warn us against this very 
danger when he says: ‘‘Quench not the Spirit.” On the 
other hand, may we not enjoy this blessing in ever-increasing 
measure as we may prepare our hearts for its reception, and as 
our necessities may demand ? 

3. The figures used in describing the gift indicate both its 
source and the manner of bestowing it. 


THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 


193 


(1) It is called a baptism. God himself said to John: 
“ Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remain- 
ing on him, the same is he which baptizeth in the Holy Spirit.” 
God here calls the impartation a baptism, and John accordingly 
says : ‘ * There cometh one after me whose shoes I am not worthy 
to unloose : he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire.” 

(2) It is called an outpouring. The prophet in foretelling 
of the impartation of the Spirit says: “And it shall come to 
pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit 
upon all flesh.” Peter sees the fulfillment of this on Pente- 
cost. Also, Paul says: “He saved us by the washing of 
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit which he poured 
out on us abundantly.” This passage certainly refers to the 
ordinary gift of the Spirit which is promised to believers, and 
is therefore descriptive of the impartation. 

(3) It is called a drinking. We recur again to a passage 
quoted. Jesus said: “If any man thirst let him come to me 
and drink.” John says this he spake of the Spirit which they 
that believe should receive. Paul also says: “We have all 
been made to drink of one Spirit. ” We thus have the impar- 
tation described under these bold metaphors : A baptism, an 
outpouring, a drinking. May not all of these metaphors with 
propriety be used according as we take one view or another of 
the subject? Contemplating God’s part in the giving, how 
beautifully the words “pour out” express both the abundant 
measure of the Spirit, and the willingness of God to give. “ I 
will pour out my Spirit. ” God’s act in giving is thus expressed. 
“Which he poured out on us abundantly.” Again the same 
act described. ‘ ‘ Let him come unto me and drink. ” The human 
act in receiving is described. “He shall baptize you in the 
Holy Spirit.” Both the Divine act and the human condition 
as being completely under its influence are expressed in this 
figure. It would seem, therefore, that the different symbols 
are not used to indicate diversity in the gift, or in its effects, 


194 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


but rather to indicate the action, or condition, of the different 
parties in the transaction.* 

We next pass to the consideration of, — 

VII. The work of the Spirit as it relates to the sinner. 

In order to anything like a just conception of this branch 
of the subject we must clearly discriminate between the work 
of the Spirit in the conversion of sinners, and the gift of the 
Spirit promised to the believer. A failure to make such dis- 
crimination necessarily leads to serious error. By confound- 
ing things radically different, theories have sprung up that if 
pressed to their logical conclusions would make void the 
preaching of the gospel. 

i. The sinner is taught that conversion is accomplished by 
a direct and immediate operation of the Holy Spirit upon the 
heart. Neither faith, nor repentance, nor obedience is possi- 
ble until this takes place. For this the sinner must wait, and 
for this he is taught to labor and pray. The coming of the 
Spirit is supposed to be evidenced by certain emotions, or 
feelings, or strange, startling, and miraculous experiences 
which give evidence of pardon and acceptance with God. 
Such a theory pressed to its logical results leaves no room for 
the preaching of the gospel, and utterly destroys human 
responsibility. By it man is entirely passive in conversion, 
and the responsibility for his salvation rests wholly with God. 
This theory is based on the dogma of total depravity, accord* 
ing to which the sinner is so dead that he can not believe, 
repent, or perform any acceptable act of obedience until he is 
immediately quickened by God’s Holy Spirit. Accordingly 
conversion is not regarded as process, but as a sudden trans- 
formation, accomplished solely by God. 

* I am aware that this position as to the baptism of the Spirit does not harmonize with the- 
views expressed by some of my brethren for whom I have a profound respect, but I also know 
that I stand with others of equal ability and piety, among whom may be mentioned the sainted. 
Richardson ; and to my mind, the position is reasonable and Scriptural. 


THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 195 

2. This presents a most striking contrast to the orderly, 
natural, and logical process of conversion as it is revealed 
under the apostolic ministry. We have no example of an 
apostle of Christ praying for an audience of unbelievers to be 
converted by an immediate operation of the Spirit, nor do we 
have an intimation in apostolic preaching that faith and repent- 
ance result from such operation. In all records of the apostles* 
work there is not a single example of a sinner seeking pardon, 
yet unable to find it, nor of an apostle demanding an experience 
as evidence of pardon. The theory that makes conversion 
the result of an irresistible and overwhelming influence of the 
Holy Spirit, has not the shadow of support in either the 
preaching or practice of the apostles. But let there be no 
misunderstanding at this point. That the conversion of sinners 
is accomplished through the agency of the Spirit is freely 
admitted. The apostles went out in the power of the Spirit, 
“to turn men from darkness to the light, and from the power 
of Satan unto God,” and their work was emphatically the 
work of the Spirit. That the Holy Spirit imparts faith and 
gives repentance, and in short accomplishes the conversion of 
the sinner, are matters about which there is no dispute. 

The important question is, Does the Holy Spirit act imme- 
diately on the heart in order to conversion, or does it use 
means, agencies, and instrumentalities? On this point the 
Scriptures give no uncertain sound. Jesus said to his dis- 
ciples, when about to leave them (John xiv. 16, 17), “I will 
pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter, that 
he may be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth whom 
the world can not receive, for it beholdeth him not, neither 
knoweth him : Ye know him for he abideth with you and 
shall be in you.” From this passage it is perfectly clear that 
the Holy Spirit does not accomplish the conversion of the 
sinner by an immediate operation, for Jesus distinctly says : 
“Whom the world can not receive.” To pray for God to 


196 


THE GREAT SALVATION, 


pour out his Spirit upon the unconverted, in order to their 
conversion, is to pray for that which Jesus says is impossible. 

3. Jesus not only declares the inability of the world to 
receive the Spirit, but he gives us a positive statement as to the 
work the Spirit accomplishes for the world. “If I go not 
away the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I go I will 
send him unto you, and when he is come he will convict the 
world in respect of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment : of 
sin, because they believed not on me ; of righteousness, because 
I go to the Father and ye behold me no more ; of judgment, 
because the prince of this world is judged” (John xvi. 7-1 1). 

(1) This doubtless is intended as a comprehensive state- 
ment of the Spirit’s work as it relates to the world at large, 
and it is seen to embrace simply three items ; the first being to 
convict the world of sin. To guard us against the mistake of 
supposing that sin in general is meant, Christ adds: “Of sin 
because they believe not on me.” This limits the application 
of the passage to the specific sin of rejecting the Christ in his 
office as the world’s Saviour. It was the office of the Spirit 
to show the world that Jesus was the true Messiah, and that 
in rejecting him the world was guilty. This was done in the 
beginning through the preaching of the apostles, and it is 
accomplished now through the agency of preaching. 

(2) The second item in the Spirit’s work is to convince the 
world of righteousness. Here again we have Christ’s own 
explanation. It was not the righteousness of the world, nor 
any portion of the world, but of Christ, “Of righteousness, 
because I go to the Father.” The Jewish Sanhedrin had set 
in judgment on Christ, and condemned him for unrighteous- 
ness. He was declared to be a blasphemer. Christ carried 
his case to the highest court in the universe, and by the 
coming of the Spirit in accordance with his promise, his 
acceptance with God is declared, and his righteousness made 
manifest. 


THE MIN 1 ST R Y OF THE HOL Y SPIRIT. 197 

(3) The third part of the Holy Spirit’s work in behalf of 
the world was to convince it of judgment, and here again 
Christ guards us against misunderstanding: “Of judgment, 
because the prince of the world is judged.” It is not the judg- 
ment of the world, nor of wicked men, but of Satan, the prince 
of this world. Christ, in his death, grappled with Satan, and 
wrenched the keys of death from his grasp. The conqueror 
is at last conquered, and his final judgment has commenced. 
By the coming of the Spirit, Christ’s complete and lasting 
victory is fully guaranteed, and the final overthrow of the 
powers of darkness made sure. Now the world is called upon 
to transfer its allegiance to a new sovereign through the proc- 
lamation of the gospel. The beginning of the end has come. 
From henceforth Satan’s kingdom shall decline until the final 
overthrow, and the kingdom of Christ shall increase in 
strength and power until its final victory. Then shall the 
kingdom be delivered up to God the Father, and the Son him- 
self become subject, that God may be all in all. 

4. The way is now open for a clear understanding of how 
the Spirit accomplishes his work. After Jesus had given his 
commission, he said: “Tarry ye in Jerusalem until ye be 
endued with power from on high.” After seven days of 
waiting, the Spirit came in accordance with Christ’s promise, 
and the apostles were fully equipped for their work. Imme- 
diately Peter stood up, and under the direction of the Spirit 
began to preach, pointing out to the assembled multitude the 
sin they had incurred in rejecting Christ. Conviction was thus 
produced in the minds of many by the Holy Spirit, speaking 
by the mouth of the Apostle Peter. When the convicted 
ones cried out, “What shall we do?” Peter replied, “Re- 
pent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus 
Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of 
the Holy Spirit.” It would, therefore, be in perfect harmony 
with Scripture teaching, and apostolic example, to preach the 


198 


THE GREA T SAL VA ETON. 


gospel to men to make them believers, and to promise to the 
believer the gift of the Holy Spirit on condition of repentance 
and baptism. This is the beautiful, simple, and logical pro- 
cess foreshadowed in Christ’s commission, and clearly revealed 
on Pentecost ; hence, says Peter : ‘ ‘ God has chosen that the 
Gentiles by my mouth should hear the words of the gospel 
and believe. ” Peter never spent time in praying for an out- 
pouring of the Holy Spirit upon the unconverted, and telling 
men they could do nothing until they were regenerated by an 
immediate operation of the Spirit, but he preached the gospel, 
and as a part of this gospel promised the gift of the Spirit to the 
obedient, penitent believer. In perfect harmony with this are 
the teachings of Paul (Rom. x. 14-17), “How then shall they 
call on him in whom they have not believed ? and how believe 
in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they 
hear without a preacher ? and how shall they preach except 
they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of 
them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of 
good things; but they have not all obeyed the gospel. For 
Esaias saith : ‘Lord, who hath believed our report?’ So then 
faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” 
(Rom. x. 14-17). “Fori am not ashamed of the gospel of 
Christ ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one 
that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek ” (Rom. 
i. 16). The writer of Hebrews says: “ For the word of God 
is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, 
piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of both 
joints and marrow, and is quick to discern the thoughts and 
intents of the heart” (Heb. iv. 12). 

We therefore conclude that the work of the Holy Spirit, 
as it relates to the sinner, is to impart faith, give repentance, 
lead to obedience, all of which is accomplished mediately 
through the preaching of the gospel, after which it has another 
work to perform for the Christian, as we have already seen. 


199 


THE MINISTRY OF THE H&LY SPIRIT. 

In our last division of this most important subject, we have 
reserved for consideration, — 

VIII. The blessing following from this indwelling presence of 
the Holy Spirit in the heart. 

We have already seen that, — 

1. The Comforter was to take the place of Christ’s bodily 
presence. This does not mean that Christ has gone — that we 
no longer have him. It simply means that as a person clothed 
in flesh he has gone, but that as a spiritual presence he is with 
us still; that he and the Father dwell in us by the Spirit which 
he hath given us. It is the realization of that gracious prom- 
ise, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” Instead of 
troubling our minds about the physical or intellectual mystery 
that this question presents, we should rest our hearts in this 
assurance, and rejoice in the realization of this promise. What 
more comforting assurance than this ? Let me feel that by 
this indwelling Spirit Jesus is with me — that I am never alone, 
nor shall I ever be so long as this body remains the temple of 
the Holy Spirit. The chiefest among the ten thousands, and 
the one altogether lovely, the Nazarene, the crucified One, the 
risen and exalted Redeemer, is with me as my ever-present 
companion and sympathizing friend. 

2. Another great blessing which should never for a mo- 
ment be lost sight of is the fact that the Spirit by its indwelling 
presence becomes a necessary and effective agent in the devel- 
opment of Christian life and character. There are some who 
contend that teaching and example are all that is needed to 
effect transformation of life and character. If this be true the 
presence of the Holy Spirit in the heart must be regarded 
rather as a spiritual luxury than as a necessity. If true Chris- 
tian life and character can be secured through the influence of 
teaching and example alone, the great end of existence will 
have been attained. Does not the history of Christ’s own 


200 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


apostles disprove this theory? To what marvelous lessons 
these men had listened, what warnings, what admonitions had 
been given them ! Had they not listened to the teachings of 
him who spake as never man spake ? Had not the example of 
a perfect life been constantly before them for years ? But yet 
all this had come far short of producing in them the ideal 
character. After all this rich experience, Peter could deny 
his Lord with oaths and curses, and all could desert the 
Master in cowardly fear. But after Pentecost behold what a 
change! What a transformation is seen! Great as was the 
teaching, great as was the life of Christ, something more was 
needed to secure the highest results. This needed power came 
on Pentecost, and behold the result. No longer do we see 
vascillation, doubt, and cowardly fear; but, on the contrary, 
sublime faith that never faltered. Let no one, however, be 
led to undervalue the sacred word of God. Do not for one 
moment believe, as some have taught, that it is a dead letter, 
powerless until vitalized by some immediate operation of God’s 
Spirit. This theory discredits the words of the apostle declar- 
ing that it “is living and active, sharper than a two-edged 
sword.” Let no one forget that the word of God is the sword 
of the Spirit, and that as such it is a most effective weapon. 
Through the word the Spirit operates, as we have seen, in the 
conversion of sinners. It must be preached, it must be be- 
lieved ; but in the perfection of the true Christian character, 
in producing the fruits of Christian life, this very record 
teaches that another agent is operative aside from precept and 
example. “According to his mercy he saves by the washing 
of generations and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” Does not 
this consideration give new significance to Christ’s words, 
“It is expedient for you that I go away ” ? Why expedient, if 
precept and example alone could accomplish the highest ends ? 
That something must be added to enlightenment is also shown 
by the following impressive and forcible language: “It is 


THE MINISTR Y OF THE HOI Y SPIRIT. 


201 


impossible for those who were once enlightened [this is the 
result of teaching by both precept and example, but some- 
thing more is to follow], and have tasted of the heavenly gift, 
and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted 
of the good word of God, and of the powers of the world to 
come, and if they fall away to renew them again to repent- 
ance ; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God 
afresh and put him to an open shame” (Heb. vi. 4-6). Even 
enlightenment, together with the gift of the Spirit, may fail, for 
the possibility of falling away is suggested in this passage. 
Much more enlightenment without the gift would be likely 
to fail. 

3. We also learn from God’s word that the Spirit is an 
inner witness of our sonship. “The Spirit himself beareth 
witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, ” says 
Paul. Can one reasonably suppose that Paul meant that this 
witness of the Spirit was the written word, or even the spoken 
word, of the apostles, laying down the conditions of pardon ? 
Suppose we try to place ourselves in the position of the Romans 
to whom Paul wrote, having no written word or document of 
any kind on the subject of Christianity, what could we possi- 
bly understand by such language other than that the Spirit is 
an inner witness of sonship ? In fact, it seems scarcely possi- 
ble to doubt that Paul used the demonstrative pronoun, trans- 
lated “himself,” to designate the personal spirit. If he 
intended them to understand by this phrase “Spirit himself,” 
simply the word inspired by the Spirit, he certainly took a 
most unaccountable way to communicate that idea. Further- 
more, if the Holy Spirit dwells in the heart, why may it not 
bear witness ? To deny the possibility of witness is really to 
deny the possibility of the indwelling presence. John says: 
“ Hereby we know that he [Christ] abideth in us by the Spirit 
which he hath given us.” Also : “Hereby we know that we 
dwell in him and he in us because he hath given us of his 


202 


THE GREA T SAL VA T/OH. 


Spirit.” The knowing here referred to is the result of the 
indwelling, hence by his presence in the heart the Spirit be- 
comes to us a witness. 

4. We also learn that the indwelling of the Spirit trans- 
forms men into moral heroes. This fact is strikingly illustrated 
in the case of the apostles already referred to. Never was 
there a greater change witnessed in men than that seen in the 
apostles after Pentecost. * ‘ Tarry ye in Jerusalem until ye be 
endued with power from on high.” What was this power? 
The ability to work miracles? But they had enjoyed this 
before. To speak with tongues ? But this is simply one form 
of miraculous endowment, and why the necessity of waiting 
for this kind of endowment which before had been given ? If 
they had lost it, why could it not then be restored ? The fact 
that a new kind of spiritual presence was soon to be given 
explains all. The Holy Spirit was about to take its abode in 
the hearts of believers, but the time had not yet come. Christ 
was not yet glorified. Hence they were to tarry till this new gift 
should be sent, which would endue them with power, not simply 
to work miracles, but with a power that would transform them, 
into moral heroes. Hence we find that Peter, who a short time 
before denied his Lord in a weak and cowardly manner, now 
stands up bold as a lion, and charges Christ’s murderers with 
their crime. When endued with this power, this weak and 
vascillating disciple became the grandest embassador that ever 
went forth on a mission. These men, who so recently had 
shown great timidity, at once became bold, aggressive champions 
of truth, “ unabashed in the presence of kings, and undaunted 
in the presence of death.” This wonderful change in the 
apostles stands out as one of the most marvelous things 
witnessed among the phenomena of Pentecost. These same 
effects have ever followed the indwelling of the Spirit. How 
calmly Stephen met his death. When his persecutors gnashed 
on him with their teeth, and were preparing to stone him, 


THE MIN 1ST R Y OF THE HOL Y SPIRIT. 203 

“He being full of the Holy Spirit looked up steadfastly 
into heaven, and said, I see Jesus standing on the right hand 
of God.” And while the stones were being hurled upon him 
he said: “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge, and having 
said this he fell asleep.” It is impossible to avoid the con- 
clusion that this is the mysterious power that has in all ages 
sustained the Christian martyrs, and enabled them to rejoice 
even amidst the flames. This is the power that yet enables 
the Christian calmly to meet death, and who shall say that in 
this trying hour bright visions do not come even as they came 
to the martyr Stephen. Truly in the gift of the Spirit the 
climax of blessing is reached. The Divine and the human are 
wedded. Man is made a partaker of the Divine nature, and 
God’s great plan of saving man is realized. 

We can conclude this chapter in no better way than by 
referring to the fruit of the Spirit as mentioned by the Apostle 
Paul in such richness and abundance : 

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, 
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” 

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and 
peace in believing that ye may abound in hope through the 
power of the Holy Spirit.” 


CHAPTER XI. 


THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHRIST- LIKENESS. 

Introduction: i. The development of true character is 
the great aim of the gospel of Christ. God’s purpose is to 
save men from their sins, and not in their sins. He proposes 
not simply to free men from the guilt and consequences of 
sin, but to destroy the love of sin, and prepare the individual 
for the society of unfallen spirits by developing in him all that 
is noble, pure, and good. Salvation is, therefore, first of all 
subjective. The kingdom is within as well as without. The 
individual must be saved here before he can be saved hereafter. 

2. These considerations make it clear that salvation, in a 
most important sense, is progressive. It is a matter of growth 
or development ; consequently John says: “It doth not yet 
appear what we shall be." I take this to mean that the full 
salvation is not reached at once. There is enlargement, 
growth, development. It is a small view of this great ques- 
tion that makes «t a mere matter of place, or outward environ- 
ment, or even of certain fixed and definite steps that bring the 
individual to a certain place where pardon is bestowed. While 
there may be, and are, certain definite steps eventuating in 
pardon, which is in a sense salvation, yet in a much larger 
and fuller sense salvation comes afterward, and consists of a 
growth into the Divine image and likeness. Consequently, a 
man may be saved every day; that is, he may attain unto a 
larger salvation; he may come nearer and nearer unto the 
Divine ideal, and this, in fact, is the great purpose of God as 

it is being realized in his appointments of grace. 

201 


DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHRIS T-LIKENESS. 205 

3. The possibilities that God sets before every man are 
such as to thrill the heart and fire the soul. To be a man in 
the Divine sense means to be a being truly but little lower 
than the angels. It means to be a being of pure heart, noble 
purposes, lofty desires, holy ambitions. It means to be a 
being so enlarged in all his capacities, states, and desires, that 
all littleness and narrowness has been lost, and all prejudice 
destroyed. It means to be one from whom all race and class 
feelings have been eradicated — one who, standing on the broad 
plane of a common humanity, can take every man by the hand, 
be he black or white, rich or poor, cultivated or rude, and say 
as his heart throbs with the impulse of universal kinship, * ‘ My 
brother.” Such a blessed consummation as is thus presented 
means that it is possible for us to climb the golden ladder, let 
down from heaven, until at last we stand on that plane where 
God and the angels dwell, and see not as now ‘ * through a glass 
darkly,” but see in God’s clear sunlight, and “know as we are 
known.” Truly, in view of our wonderful possibilities, it is a 
great thing to be a man. 

In our study of this soul-thrilling subject, we are naturally 
led to consider, — 

I. The active principle at work in the development of the 
Divine Ideal — the Perfect Man. 

1. In all growth there is an active principle at work that 
produces the invisible result. In plants and animals, the life 
principle — vegetable in the one case, and animal in the other — 
operates to produce the proper development of the organism. 
What this in essence is, has so far eluded the search of the 
most painstaking investigator; but this in no way contravenes 
the fact of its existence. The principle of life exists, and it 
operates to produce growth, or development, under certain 
necessary conditions, and the fully developed individual is the 
product of this principle. 


206 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


2. Likewise there is a principle operative in the develop- 
ment of character, under the influence of which development 
proceeds, and without which there is no growth. This princi- 
ple seems to be immediately (not remotely) that of imitation. 
Character is formed, not because the individual has abstractedly 
apprehended certain ethical principles, but because those prin- 
ciples have been presented in the concrete as a model for 
imitation. The fact of incarnation is, consequently, funda- 
mental and far-reaching. A truth may be interesting and 
important in the abstract, but to have power it must be incar- 
nated. In fact, we probably never comprehend the abstract 
until we have seen its concrete embodiment. We know what 
love and sympathy are when we see them incarnated — when 
they are shown forth in the actions of a loving, sympathetic 
man or woman. Wendell Phillips said : “Put a great moral 
idea on two feet and start it across the continent, and it will be 
just as certain to revolutionize the continent as if in order to 
blow up the capitol you should place gunpowder beneath the 
Senate chamber. ,, Wendell Phillips was himself an illustra- 
tion of the doctrine he uttered. He was the embodiment of 
a principle, and the principle manifested wonderful power 
because it was embodied. All principles, whether true or 
false, obtain dynamic energy by incarnation. A doctrine that 
is held as a mere abstraction has little power with men. 

3. All this is perhaps more fully explained if we consider 
that man seems to be very largely an imitative being. This 
propensity manifests itself in early life. The child is first of 
all an imitator. It tries to do everything it sees done. It 
busies itself in copying activities of older people, and in this 
it finds great delight. This principle so strong in the child is 
never lost. We pattern after our ideals, and become what we 
are largely on the principle of imitation. If our ideals are good 
and worthy, we become correspondingly good and noble ; if they 
are low and groveling, we become correspondingly debased. 


DEVELOPMENT OP THE CHRIS T-LIKENESS. 207 

4. God has recognized this truth in a most practical way 
in the development of his plan of salvation. It is said of 
Christ that “ His life was the light of man.” The only vision 
of God that can truly bless man is a vision of God incarnate. 
This meets the constitutional demands of the soul. This 
invests the God idea with dynamic energy by making God a 
model, or pattern, for human imitation. Christianity is not a 
philosophy, or a system of ethics. It aims at the develop- 
ment of a true character by presenting to man a perfect model 
for imitation. A distinguished writer has truly said that in a 
philosophical system the system itself is everything, the person- 
ality of the author nothing, but that in the Christian system, 
the personality of the founder is everything. Jesus Christ is, 
therefore, unique, not only in his personality, but in his method. 
In his system he has embodied a principle that finds its ex- 
planation only in the profoundest and most comprehensive 
understanding of the human soul, and the most accurate 
knowledge of its deepest wants. Truly it was said of him, 
“ He knew what was in man.” 

5. But let us not make the mistake of supposing that we 
have in this principle grasped the fundamental thing. It is 
not simply a question of deciding upon a model, even if we 
decide upon the right model, and then of calmly making up 
our minds to reproduce that model. Human character is not 
the result of any such cold and heartless process. Man does 
not pattern after a model simply because he determines in a 
cold, intellectual way to do so. We imitate that which we 
admire or love. The heart is involved in a most radical sense. 
When Jesus was asked what the first and great commandment 
was, he did not say, Choose the right model and reproduce it, 
but he said : ‘ ‘ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
might and mind and strength.” Why is this love demanded, 
if the highest character, and consequently the highest good, 
can be secured by copying a perfect pattern? Jesus was too 


208 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


radical a teacher to omit the fundamental thing. He knew 
that men would neither choose the model nor pattern after it 
without love for the model, and, therefore, he pointed at once 
to the fundamental thing. We consequently see why God 
presents himself to us in aspects to win our love. Therefore, — 

“ Love is the golden chain that binds 
Our happy souls above; 

And he ’s an heir of heaven that finds 
His bosom glow with love.” 

Here we reach the bed-rock upon which is reared the structure 
of a true and noble character. 

This naturally leads us to consider at greater length, — 

II. The true model for development of the Perfect Man. 

1. Man, in his search for the highest good, has generally 
followed along one of three lines. He has been ambitious for 
power, and the man of power has been his ideal ; or he has 
been greedy for riches, and the man of wealth has been his 
model ; or he has coveted knowledge or wisdom, and the man of 
wisdom has seemed to him to hold the highest place. True, 
some have found their glory in meaner and baser things, but 
in the main the paths of men have followed the three direc- 
tions indicated. 

2. We reach, however, a different result when we search 
the Scriptures for a Divine model, (i) Paul said: “But we 
all with open face beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the 
Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory 
even as by the Spirit of our Lord” (II. Cor. iii. 18). In this 
passage God’s glory is presented as an image into which we 
are changed. Here we have suggested, not only the idea of 
imitation, which we have just elaborated, but also the true 
image, or model, is mentioned. It is called “the glory of 
the Lord.” If we can discover the meaning of this we have 
found the true model for character building. (2) Moses 


DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHRIS T-LIKENESS. 


209 


requested God to show him his glory. God’s answer is sug- 
gestive. “Behold,” he saith, “I will make my goodness to 
pass before thee.” Why did not God say: I will make my 
power, or wisdom, or riches pass before thee? Because God 
has neither power,, nor riches, nor wisdom ? Certainly not. 
He is infinite in all these. Because he despises these things ? 
Surely not. He doubtless considers all of them great. He 
evidently proceeds at once to the fundamental thing. “Be- 
hold I will make my goodness to pass before thee. ” God’s 
glory lies in his philanthropy, his goodness. God is powerful, 
not that power is an end, but because it is a means to an end. . 
It contributes to his goodness. The same may be said of his 
riches and his wisdom. All are great, not as ends, but as 
contributing to the highest end, which is goodness. 

3. But, as we have seen, abstractions have but little power. 
The concrete form is the active dynamic form. Hence God 
incarnated his goodness. Jesus Christ was God manifest in the 
flesh. Consequently the writer of Hebrews said of him : 

* * Who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image 
of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his 
power, when he had made purification of sin, sat down at the 
right hand of the majesty on high.” Here is God’s way of 
presenting his glory to man. He embodied it in the form of 
a man, who was the effulgence of that glory. With this idea in 
mind, Paul’s language becomes clear. “We beholding, as in a 
glass, the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image.” 
Jesus Christ is therefore the Divine model for the development 
of a true character. He is the incarnation of God’s glory 
(goodness), and consequently a perfect pattern for imitation. 
We reach the highest character, not because we intellectually 
apprehend certain true doctrines, or ethical principles, but 
because our hearts have been filled with the love of God as he 
reveals himself in the lovely person and character of Jesus 
Christ, and making him our model we grow up into him in 


210 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


whom “dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead.” To insure the 
accomplishment of this most beneficent result, God gives us 
his Holy Spirit to dwell within us, and consequently the 
blessed results of Christian life are said to be the fruits of the 
Spirit. 

This naturally leads us to consider, — 

III. The necessary conditions for the development of the 
Perfect Man. 

I. The passage from Paul, already quoted, indicates that the 
development is a gradual process. “We are changed into the 
same image from glory to glory that is, from one degree of 
goodness to another. There is good, better, and best, and the 
time element necessarily enters into this progressive unfolding 
from good to better, and from better to best. Nor is this at 
all peculiar to Christianity. All true and solid growth is a 
gradual process. In the vegetable world those forms of life 
that develop quickly are comparatively transient. Quick 
growth means lack of solidity and speedy death. A mush- 
room will grow in a night and die in a day, while an oak tree 
requires a century for its development, but it has strength and 
stability, and is not only a thing of beauty, but of great utility. 
The same truth finds illustration in the development of the 
physical body. The boy who grows up rapidly is not as 
strong and robust as the boy who grows more slowly. When 
we pass upward into the intellectual and spiritual realms we 
find that the same law holds good, and receives even more 
emphatic confirmation. True, healthy intellectual develop- 
ment requires time, and any system of education that does not 
recognize this fact, and make allowance for the time element, is 
a delusion and a snare. Schools that advocate short-cut meth- 
ods and patent processes for intellectual training and develop- 
ment, are frauds, and deserve the contempt of all right-minded 
persons. The young are peculiarly liable to be imposed upon 


DEVELOPMENT OP THE CHRIST- LINENESS. 


211 


by this educational quackery. Youth is naturally impulsive 
and impatient under restraint. A year looks like an eternity 
to a young person, and many seek to avoid the slow and 
tedious process of true growth by resorting to short cuts, and 
in this way they make mistakes that never can be corrected. 
Solid, healthy, sturdy intellectual development is a slow 
process under any and all systems of education. It can not be 
hastened beyond a certain degree of progress, differing some- 
what in different individuals. Wherever the time element ap- 
pears to be in large measure eliminated, we may rest assured 
that the education itself has been, to a considerable extent, 
eliminated. In the spiritual domain, we meet with no excep- 
tions. A well-developed Christian man is not the product of 
an instantaneous operation of Divine grace and power. Chris- 
tian character is a growth ; hence says Peter : 4 ‘As new-born 

babes long for the spiritual milk which is without guile that 
you may grow thereby unto salvation.” This language was 
addressed to Christians, called in the first verse of the epistle 
“ elect,” and yet there w T as a salvation to which they had not 
attained, and which was to be reached by a process of growth. 
Just here church officers sometimes make a serious mistake. 
The time element is not taken into consideration. As much 
is expected of the individual the next day after he enters the 
church as if he had been a member of the church for many 
years. If he makes mistakes, as little excuse is made for him 
as there would be for the oldest member of the congregation, 
and sometimes the exactions seem to be even more severe, 
and the lines appear to be more rigidly drawn. All this is 
wrong. It violates the law of common sense as well as the 
law of God. Give time for growth, and do not expect impos- 
sibilities. Beyond doubt a time may come when the individual 
may merit the severest condemnation, when for instance he 
has had ample time and opportunity for growth, and still con- 
tinues weak— a mere babe in strength and knowledge ; but until 


212 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION \ 


there has been a time for growth, patience and forbearance 
should be exercised. 

2. The second condition of growth is appropriation. No 
organism can grow without food, and healthy, vigorous growth 
demands food of the proper kind, and in sufficient amount. 
In the material realm this is so well understood that it seems 
superfluous to mention it, but the law holds good in the 
higher domain. The mind, in order to its healthy develop- 
ment, must be properly fed. It will starve without food, just 
as surely as would the body. Many an one seriously injures 
his intellectual powers by neglecting to take the proper amount 
and kind of food. The mind feeds upon everything taken 
into it. If the food be healthful, the mind is made strong; if 
otherwise, the mind is weakened. It is a serious question as 
to what shall be our intellectual food. The mind may be 
poisoned just as surely as may the body. To read some kinds 
of books, listen to some kinds of speeches, associate with 
some kinds of persons, is not only extremely dangerous, but 
in many cases absolutely fatal. This law is abundantly illus- 
trated in the spiritual realm. The spiritual man demands food 
just as imperatively as does the physical or intellectual nature. 
The church of Jesus Christ is a great bread-house. It is a 
place for feeding hungry souls that thereby healthy growth 
may be produced. God’s provision is ample ; but to neglect 
it is to insure spiritual decay. The reading of God’s Word, 
prayer, the exhortations of God’s people, the preaching of 
the gospel, and the Lord’s Supper are means provided by God 
for the sustenance of the spiritual nature. The soul grows in 
proportion to the use made of these divine provisions, and 
withers and decays in the measure that they are neglected. 
No one can become strong spiritually who habitually absents 
himself from the house of God, and thus neglects the divinely 
appointed means of growth. Apostasy has its beginning in a 
neglect to attend to this most important duty of appropriation. 


DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHRIST- LIKENESS. 213 

The writer of Hebrew says : ‘ ‘ How shall we escape if we 
neglect so great salvation ?” The Christian man may just as 
surely neglect the “Great Salvation ” by neglecting to use the 
spiritual food, as may the sinner by neglecting to accept Christ. 
In either case the neglect is fatal. 

3. There is at least one remaining condition of growth that 
may be briefly expressed by the word distribution. The eating 
of good food is not the only condition of healthy growth, even 
though ample time be given for the process. A vigorous, 
strong body can not be produced by merely eating, no matter 
how much time be allowed for its development. Healthy 
growth demands as an invariable condition that for everything 
received a full equivalent be returned. Receive and give is 
the double work demanded in order to growth. The man 
who eats and does not give back a full equivalent in the form 
of work, or exercise, becomes dyspeptic. Nature rebels at any 
such one-sided process. These laws that operate so continu- 
ously, and surely, in the physical realm, operate with equal cer- 
tainty in the intellectual and spiritual worlds. A strong mind 
can not be developed by the filling up process. Just at this 
point a serious mistake is often made in the matter of educa- 
tion. Many get the idea that education consists in gathering 
facts, in obtaining knowledge, in gaining information. Many 
a man gathers many facts, obtains much knowledge, gains 
much information, who is in no sense educated. Education 
means culture, training, discipline. It means the acquisition 
of power, and this result can never be reached by mere appro- 
priation. The true educational method is the double process 
of receiving and giving. The true educator demands of the 
student quid pro quo. He requires him to return a fair 
equivalent for everything he receives. He does not look upon 
the student as an empty vessel to be filled up, but rather as 
an aggregation of latent powers and possibilities to be devel- 
oped. The lecture method of education is a conspicuous 


214 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


failure, except in the most advanced stages of the educational 
process. Before it can be used with profit there must have 
come the discipline of the mental powers which can only be 
secured through exercise. All attempts to educate the un- 
trained, undeveloped student by the filling up process can not 
be too severely condemned. The attempt to make doctors, 
lawyers, preachers, specialists of any kind by taking untrained 
and undisciplined young people and giving to them the lines 
of work that belong to their chosen specialty, is a ridiculous 
farce; nay, worse, it is a grievous sin against honest and 
unsuspecting young people who thus become victims of a per- 
nicious system. Education should always precede specializa- 
tion, and education can not be secured by the one-sided 
process of appropriation. 

Healthy spiritual development offers a strong confirmation of 
this general truth. Distribution, or, in other words, exercise, 
is a necessary and invariable condition of spiritual growth. 
Just here is where many preachers fail. They imagine their 
work done when they have faithfully prepared and delivered a 
definite number of sermons, and have made the required num- 
ber of pastoral calls. It is possible to kill a church by over- 
feeding and under-working its members. Good, wholesome 
spiritual food demands a corresponding amount of exercise in 
order to insure healthy growth. The church is full of spiritual 
dyspeptics — persons who have had too much to eat spiritually, 
and not enough to do. The peevish, fault-finding church 
members (I do not say Christians) are, in most cases, the idlers. 
A working Christian (who is the real Christian) is seldom a 
complainer. The preacher who can so arrange his forces that 
every member of the church has a liberal amount of work to 
do, is usually the successful man. The Master himself was a 
worker in the truest sense. He declared: ‘‘The Father 
hitherto works, and I work.” Morning, noon, and night wit- 
nessed some beneficent ministry. His whole life was filled full 


DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHRIS T-L1KENESS. 


215 


of tender, helpful service. In this, as in all else, he consti- 
tutes a perfect model. He also made work the ground for 
high distinction. He declared the servant of all to be the 
greatest of all. He even proclaimed that the rewards of the 
future life should be awarded upon the ground of service. 

‘ ‘Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared 
for you from the fountain of the world : for I was an hungered 
and ye gave me meat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; I 
was a stranger, and ye took me in ; naked, and ye clothed me ; 
I was sick, and ye visited me ; I was in prison, and ye came 
unto me.” And then, as if to avoid any misunderstanding, 
and to make sure that the possibility of service be clearly 
comprehended, he adds by way of explanation: “Inasmuch 
as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even the least, ye 
did it unto me. ” 

This whole subject on the human side may then be briefly 
summed up in three words: Time, food, exercise. Then “let 
us not be weary in well doing : for in due season we shall reap 
if we faint not. As we have opportunity, let us work that 
which is good toward men, and especially toward them that 
are of the household of the faith.' * May we with deep, 
intense yearning, ardent desire, and lofty aspiration accept 
this hope-inspiring declaration of the Apostle John : “It doth 
not yet appear what we shall be." Let us not be satisfied 
with anything we have attained unto hitherto, but let us say 
with the Apostle Paul : * ‘ One thing I do, forgetting the things 
which are behind and stretching forward to the things which 
are before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the 
high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” 


APPENDIX. 


CHAPTER I. 

THE DISTINCTIVE PLEA OF THE DISCIPLES. 

Introduction: In the early part of the present century, 
Thomas and Alexander Campbell, and certain others, some 
acting independently, others in cooperation with them, inaug- 
urated a religious movement that has had such phenomenal 
growth that it may challenge the attention of every earnest 
student of current religious history. 

It was not the purpose of the originators of this move- 
ment to form a new sect, or party, but they hoped to bring 
about the great end they had in view by working within the 
then existing denominations. Soon, however, it became 
apparent that this was utterly impracticable, and the move- 
ment resulted in creating a distinct and separate religious 
people, commonly known as “Disciples of Christ,” but some- 
times nicknamed “ Campbellites ” by their opponents. 

This people hold many of the great essential Christian truths 
in common with the various religious denominations of the day, 
but they are differentiated from all others by certain peculiar 
teachings, which they denominate their “ distinctive plea,” and 
to which they very earnestly invite the attention of the religious 
world. Inasmuch as this people claim peculiar truth, and have 
become a distinct religious organization, thus adding one more 

to the number of Protestant bodies, we are led to consider, — 
216 


DISTINCTIVE PLEA OF THE DISCIPLES. 


217 


I. The grounds of justification for making a distinctive plea. 

If I mistake not, the claim of distinctive truth on the part 
of any religious people finds ample justification in the divine 
method of revealing all truth. In studying God’s way of 
giving truth to the world, we find, — 

i. That it is an individual method. That is to say, every 
great truth is first committed to one person, or, at most, to 
a very few. It passes to the many through the one or the few. 

This has always been true, even in those domains of truth 
that are discoverable without supernatural aid. All great dis- 
coveries of truth in the natural world have been made by 
individuals. We are indebted to some one man for the dis- 
covery of each truth that has been added to the common 
accumulating inheritance of the race. People in the mass 
may receive truth at second hand, but the first appearance of 
truth always comes to the one man, and, generally, during a 
period of isolation from the busy throng. Illustrations are 
abundant along this line. Newton, Kepler, Harvey, and 
Franklin may be mentioned as conspicuous examples of indi- 
viduals to whom great truth has come, and through whom it 
has been transmitted to the many. 

The same principle seems to hold good in the domain of 
supernatural revelation. God does not speak from heaven to 
an assembled universe, nor does he write his revelation on the 
sky in flaming characters. He calls aside the one man, and 
commits to him the Divine message of truth, and makes him 
the agent to declare it to the many. The Bible is full of illus- 
trations of this method. In fact, the whole volume has been 
received in this way. (i) God’s message to the wicked ante- 
diluvian world was given to Noah. (2) The promise of 
blessing to the race was given to Abraham. (3) God’s law 
to Israel was given to Moses. (4) God’s warnings and admoni- 
tions for an apostate nation were committed to the prophets, 


218 


THE GEE AT SALVATiON. 


and each prophet received his own peculiar message. (5) 
God’s final supreme revelation came through Jesus, and Jesus 
completed his revelation after he left the earth through espe- 
cially inspired agents. 

Not only is this true in the primary revelation, but also in 
what may be termed the secondary revelations of the same 
truths. That is to say, when great truths, once given, have been 
overlooked, or neglected, it has been the one man who has 
arisen, and with trumpet voice called attention to the forgotten, 
or neglected, truth. 

This method is specially adapted to the human capacities, 
needs, and desires. The fact that God has adopted it, is proof 
conclusive of its wisdom. Man is necessarily the best teacher 
of man, because, from his own experience and consciousness, 
he knows the powers, limitations, and weaknesses of the hu- 
man mind. God, in furnishing man with the great teacher 
needed, incarnated himself. Men have shown an unwilling- 
ness to receive the message in any other way. When God 
attempted to speak directly to the assembled hosts of Israel at 
Sinai, the people entreated that the divine message might be 
given to Moses, and that through him it might come to them. 
This experience of Israel should teach us all to be willing to 
listen to God’s messengers of truth. 

2. That it is an economic method. 

This economy appears first in the fact that God does not 
give supernatural revelation concerning matters discoverable 
by man’s natural powers. The natural is always exhausted 
before the supernatural is called into use. If this rule seems 
in any case to fail in God’s dealing with the elect nation, it 
should be borne in mind (1) that many of the items of special 
revelation had a typical significance, (2) that these instructions, 
and laws, were given to a single nation, and intended merely as 
a restraining influence on the life of the nation for a limited 
period, while certain great problems involving the blessing of 


DISTINCI IVE PLEA OF THE DISCIPLES. 


219 


the race were being wrought out. God’s dealing with this 
nation, in many respects, was special and extraordinary. 

God is sparing of his prophets. He does not select a hun- 
dred, or a thousand, men, and give to each the same message, 
but he usually contents himself with declaring his message 
once. If he repeats it, it is because the message has been 
lost, or misunderstood, or neglected. 

3. That it is a harmonious method. 

No two truths can ever conflict. God’s prophets never 
bring contradictory messages. Enlarge the term prophet so 
as to include all teachers of truth in every field of knowledge, 
and still the rule holds good. This is true, no matter how 
diverse and widely separated the fields may be. 

It also follows that natural and supernatural truths will 
always harmonize with each other. There is no such thing as 
conflict between science and revelation. If there appears to be 
conflict, it is because we misunderstand the one or the other. 
All apostles of truth harmonize in their teachings, whether 
they labor in the same or diverse fields. This being true, it 
follows that there can never be any just ground for contention 
between those who hold great truth. War must necessarily 
be the result of error, or misunderstanding. If this fact were 
understood by all, great truths would not be compelled to 
fight their way into recognition, as is so often the case, and 
men would spare themselves the shame and ignominy of cruci- 
fying the apostles of truth. 

4. That it is an opportune method. 

God’s gifts of truth, whether naturally or supernaturally 
revealed, seem always to be most opportune. They are never 
in advance of the wants of the age, and they are never tardy 
in their coming. Every great gift of truth seems to come in 
the fullness of time, as did the greatest of all gifts, the Saviour 
of men. Even in the lower domain of purely intellectual and 
scientific truth, this rule finds constant and uniform verification, 


220 


'THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


and in the higher spiritual fields the illustrations are many and 
striking. God’s man always comes when he is most needed. 

5. That it is a gradually pervasive method. 

God never gives the truth to one man for his own sake 
alone. Truth should never be regarded as a mere personal 
possession. God gives it to the one for the sake of the many, 
and it is, therefore, the duty of the one to give it to the many. 
The man who holds great truth should never be silenced, nor 
should he be censured for speaking. It is a duty laid upon 
him by virtue of the very truth he holds. 

In these important and evident truths lie ample justification, 
for every distinctive plea embodying great truth. Truth is 
always first distinctive, and it continues to be distinctive for an 
ever-increasing number, until it comes into universal recognition. 
Until that time, every party, whether great or small, that holds 
distinctive truth, is justified in making a distinctive plea. 

We next consider, — 

II. The grounds of justification for the separate organic 
existence of a people having a peculiar distinctive plea. 

The opinion is entertained by some that peculiar truths 
would more rapidly become general if those holding them 
would propagate them quietly, and not allow themselves to 
crystallize, or be driven into separate parties, and thus excite 
antagonism and stir up bitter feelings. That this view is 
erroneous is shown by the fact that all great dominant truths 
have, in the Divine wisdom, been temporarily committed to 
the keeping of some nation, race, or party, as a gift in trust 
for the many. 

1. This truth finds ample illustration in the history of 
ancient nations. The student of the philosophy history discovers 
and points out the characteristic national and race thoughts. 

Rome had in keeping a great and necessary idea that was 
doubtlessly divinely given to her to guard and keep until it 


DISTINCTIVE PLEA OF THE DISCIPLES . 221 

should become the possession of all. It was hers to magnify 
the thought of law, and to work out, under the impulse of 
this idea, a form of stable government; to so improve mate- 
rial conditions as to make this a practical reality. 

To Greece was given the thought of wisdom. Hers was 
largely an intellectual conception. Her great, peculiar, and, 
doubtless, divinely given work was performed in the intellect- 
ual domain, and along the necessarily related lines. Paul 
declared that “the Greeks seek after wisdom.” 

To Israel was committed the wonderful and unique con- 
ception of the one true and living God, which stood in such 
marked contrast with the polytheistic notions of all other races 
and nations. 

2. Modern nations furnish no less striking examples of this 
same truth. 

France holds supreme the thought of power. She is a 
nation greedy of empire. 

Germany magnifies the thought of wisdom. In philosophy 
she holds the supreme place. 

England lays great emphasis upon the idea of wealth. No 
people are more greedy for material possessions than are the 
English. 

The Anglo-Saxon race holds in keeping the thought of 
liberty. 

3. This is also illustrated in the history of Protestantism. 

Luther grasped the idea that the Bible is the people’s book, 

and the supreme authority in matters of religion. Subordin- 
ate to and growing out of this was his doctrine of justification 
by faith. This was a most timely truth, and one that needed 
special emphasis at that particular period. God’s man came 
with his message at exactly the right moment. This truth, 
so firmly grasped by the one man, soon came to be the pos- 
session of a party who rallied around it and held it as a sacred, 
divine possession. 


222 


1 HE GREAT SALVATION. 


Calvin laid hold on the idea of Divine sovereignty. This, 
too, was most timely. Around him a party soon gathered 
who became the guardians of the great truth. 

Arminius declared the doctrine of the freedom of the human 
will, and, consequently, of human responsibility. This, too, 
was specially needed at that particular time. 

Wesley laid emphasis upon the idea of spiritual Christianity 
as opposed to mere ritualistic or formal religion. This idea 
has characterized the movement that he inaugurated. It 
seems to be the peculiar treasure committed to this great 
people that have rallied around Wesley as their religious 
leader. They have laid great emphasis on the spiritual 
aspects of the religion of Christ, and the work of the Holy 
Spirit. 

4. It is also true that the great central truth peculiar to 
any given party is not its only possession. There is a fund 
of Bible knowledge that is generally accepted, and then, too, 
each new party that arises adopts more or less of the pecu- 
liar truths that others hold, consequently there has come 
to be a great fund of Christian truth common to all denom- 
inations. 

It generally happens, also, that there are certain subordin- 
ate truths that logically take their root in and spring out of 
the great central truth. These become parts of the pecu- 
liar plea, and sometimes it happens that they assume such 
importance, or receive such emphasis, as to obscure the 
central plea. 

5. A party for the support of a given truth is necessary 
until the truth for which it stands comes into general recogni- 
tion and acceptance. When this takes place, the necessity for 
a distinct party ceases, because it has accomplished its mission. 
It has then handed forward the treasure committed to it to 
those for whom it was intended. 

This prepares us to understand, — 


DISTINCTIVE PLEA OF THE DISCIPLES , . 


223 


III. The great distinctive plea of the people known as the 
“Disciples of Christ,” and to discover its logical place among 
Protestant reformatory movements. 

It is very brief and very simple. The union of the people 
of God is the great distinctive and central doctrine around which 
this people have crystallized . 

1. The logic of events demanded this plea. The Protestant 
world had become very much divided. Different reformers 
had arisen, and around each a party had gathered, attracted 
by the peculiar truth that was being emphasized. Each 
reformatory organization had come to regard its own peculiar 
truth, or truths, as the sum total of all essential Christian 
doctrine. This view of the case left no room for the discovery 
of other truth, and, consequently, each new party that rose 
was vehemently opposed by the existing organizations. By 
this means the religious world soon came to be an aggregation 
of discordant warring sects. The work of the church was 
paralyzed, its resources wasted, and the spiritual intercourse 
between believers hindered by unholy strife. 

Even the truth held by each party was more or less dis- 
torted by being dragged out of its relations to other great 
truth and made to occupy the whole field. For example, one 
party, magnifying the divine sovereignty, made salvation 
wholly dependent on God. Another party, emphasizing hu- 
man freedom, seemed to make everything depend on man. 
At this point the Protestant world divided into hostile camps, 
and the warfare was bitter and uncompromising. Good men, 
however, in all the parties saw the evils, and deplored them. 

2. The time had come for a new truth to receive emphasis, 
or rather, the time demanded that emphasis be laid on an old 
truth that had been apparently overlooked, or forgotten. 
Some one must needs arise to call the people of God together, 
and lay emphasis on the sin of division. In harmony with all 


224 


THE GEE AT SAL VATION. 


historic precedent, the men arose to do the needed work. 
Thomas Campbell and his illustrious son, Alexander, gave to 
the world the needed truth in their plea for the union of the 
people of God upon the basis of simple apostolic Christianity. 
The Declaration and Address of 1809 was an arraignment of 
sectism and a plea for union. This constitutes the essence 
of the plea of the Disciples, and in this everything else 
peculiar to this people takes root. 

To fail to grasp this thought is to fail utterly in compre- 
hending this plea. This constitutes the golden cord that binds 
all the subordinate items of the plea into one harmonious 
whole. Without this thought in mind, the Disciples appear 
to be a company of objectors, fault-finders, destructionists, 
turning here and there and everywhere for something upon 
which they can make war. There seems to be no logical con- 
nection between the different items of the plea, and the whole 
movement takes on the appearance of a sort of desultory war- 
fare against the existing religious bodies. With this great 
central truth in mind, the whole aspect at once changes. 
Instead of coming before the religious world with the imple- 
ments of warfare and destruction in their hands, they come 
bearing in their hands the olive branch of peace. On their 
banner is inscribed the motto, gleaned from the prayer of 
Christ, “Let us be one, that the world may believe.” 

3. The method suggested, by which it was hoped this 
result could be accomplished, was simple and practical. It 
recognized a common underlying Christianity that existed in 
spite of all apparent contradictions and divisions. It accepted 
the fact that each great party had in keeping great truth, and 
it sought to lay hold of these great truths and set them in 
their proper relations to each other, and make them the com- 
mon possession of all. 

Its plan for the accomplishment of this result was to go 
back of all human councils and authoritative bodies ; back of 


DISTINCTIVE PLEA OF THE DISCIPLES. 


225 


Oxford, Geneva, and Rome, and stand with Christ and his 
apostles, and from their precepts and example learn the essen- 
tial Christian teaching and practice, which must, of necessity, 
embrace the truth of every great Christian body. By this 
means, not only the great essential truths, but their true rela- 
tions to each other must, necessarily, become apparent. It says 
whatever of truth each party has must have come from Christ 
and his apostles. Let us, therefore, go to the fountain head. 

4. It logically stands as the climax of Protestant reforma- 
tion. It recognizes the various reformatory movements as 
essential and harmonious parts of a great whole, and it says 
let the truth of each become the possession of all, and when 
this is brought to pass, the divine system, harmonious and 
consistent, will stand forth to the admiring gaze of the world. 

This much to be coveted result it seeks to accomplish by 
restoration rather than by compromise. It confidently claims 
that a return to apostolic Christianity, in letter and spirit, will 
not sacrifice the distinctive truth of any religious people, but, 
on the contrary, each great truth will be set in its proper rela- 
tion to all other truth, and the divine circle will be complete. 
Hence this movement should be denominated a restoration 
rather than a reformation. 

The benefits resulting from this return to apostolic ground 
may be briefly summed up as follows : (1) Organic and spirit- 
ual union will be realized. (2) Each party will still retain its 
own great truth. Whatever may be lost does not belong to 
apostolic Christianity. (3) Each will obtain the great truth of 
all other parties. (4) Sectarian animosities and jealousies will 
disappear. (5) Christ will be exalted to his true position as 
the head over all things to his church. (6) The human addi- 
tions and corruptions received from an apostate church will be 
eliminated, and all omissions will be supplied. 

Before proceeding to the next point I desire to throw out 
a word of caution for the consideration of Disciples. 


226 


THE GEE A T SAL VA TIOAT. 


In every great religious movement there are two points of 
danger that need to be constantly guarded. (i) There is 
danger that the great central truth that furnishes the magnetic 
attraction by which persons are drawn into the movement 
shall be so magnified as to occupy the whole field of vision, 
obscuring other great truth. This inevitably leads to religious 
bigotry, and begets the sectarian spirit. (2) There is also 
danger that subordinate truths shall usurp the place of the 
great central idea, thus deflecting the movement from its 
original and intended line of progress, and, consequently, 
defeating its purpose. To this danger the Disciples are espe- 
cially exposed, as any careful student of the movement, in its 
present condition, must see. 

The original idea, the union of the people of God, can 
not, therefore, be too earnestly insisted upon. With this 
word of warning we pass to consider, — 

IV. The secondary and subordinate items of the plea that 
are the necessary logical outgrowth of the great central truth. 

I. First of all, the fundamental idea of the Disciples brings 
them face to face with the question of name. 

The multitudinous sects of Christendom are each designated 
by a party name, and these names are in themselves divisive. 
A name of itself is often sufficient to perpetuate division. 
Party names are usually born of strife, and carry with them 
the animosities and bitterness of the strife out of which they 
have come. For this reason no sectarian name can ever be 
acceptable to the whole Christian world, and hence, so long as 
party names exist, division will exist. The Disciples have not 
made war upon party names because these, in themselves, 
were obnoxious. On the contrary, many of them are highly 
honorable. They oppose these names because their great dis- 
tinctive principle demands it. If organic unity ever becomes 
a reality, the united body can not, will not, be called by a 


DISTINCTIVE PLEA OF THE DISCIPLES. 227 

sectarian name. There are other good reasons that might be 
given for opposition to party names, but we are not concerned 
with the question in this discussion except in its relation to 
the great central plea. 

No name can be accepted as a designation of Christ’s 
church except it have apostolic authority, or sanction. A 
study of the Scriptures will show, beyond a doubt, that the 
members of the apostolic church, as individuals, were called 
Christians, or Disciples, and that the organic body was called 
“The Church of Christ,” or “The Church of God.” “Chris- 
tian Church ” is not, strictly speaking, Scriptural, and it is, in 
some measure, misleading. “Disciple Church” is objectiona- 
ble for the same reason, and besides, it is not even grammatical. 
Disciple is not an adjective, and should not be so used. 

A great effort has been made, chiefly by the opponents of 
this movement, to induce this people to accept a party name. 
They have been nicknamed “ Campbellites, ” and the brother- 
hood has been called the “ Campbellite Church.” They can 
not, however, accept this name, or any other sectarian name, 
without logically renouncing their plea by doing so. 

They have sometimes been censured for taking to them- 
selves the name “Church of Christ,” on the ground that it 
savors of egotism, or bigotry ; but how little ground there is 
for this criticism will appear when it is remembered that they 
do not claim to monopolize this name ; they deny it to no 
church. On the contrary, they ask all to accept it. They 
simply choose to wear it because it is in harmony with the 
genius of their plea, and they would be glad if all who profess 
to be Christians would be satisfied with this simple Scriptural 
designation of the church, since at least one cause of division 
would thus disappear. 

2. The Disciples by their plea are necessarily placed in 
opposition to all human formulations of doctrine that are made 
tests of fellowship. 


228 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


Numerous authoritative statements of doctrine have been 
promulgated by the various denominations of Christendom 
which have been made tests of fellowship by the parties 
adhering to them. These creeds are of human origin, and 
necessarily have all the imperfections and limitations to which 
the human mind is subject. Doubtless all contain more or 
less truth, but certainly in all there is more or less admixture 
of error. In so far as they express human conception of 
truth, they are necessarily imperfect. The best human con- 
ception can be no better than the mind of which it is born, 
and, consequently, more or less of imperfection must attach 
to it. Furthermore, human conceptions are variable. They 
are clearer in some than in others, and in all they are subject 
to growth and expansion. It also follows that fallible human 
judgment is made the arbiter of essential truth, consequently 
church councils and ecclesiastical legislative bodies have dif- 
fered widely in their judgment as to what constitutes the 
essential items of Christian truth. In all this there is ground 
for endless division. Whenever membership in the church is 
predicated on human standards, and tests of fellowship, divi- 
sions must, of necessity, be the result. 

The Disciples, consequently, take strong grounds against 
all human creeds, claiming (i) that all such formulations are 
fallible and imperfect; (2) that they are without authority, 
since the power to legislate concerning matters of faith and 
practice is not vested in councils, or synods, composed of 
fallible men ; (3) that they arise out of a misconception of the 
nature of Christianity, and the Christian faith. Concerning 
this latter point, it is held that Christianity is not a philosophy, 
nor a system of doctrine, but a life patterned after a divine 
example. Consequently the Christian faith, objectively consid- 
ered, was declared to be a Divine person, in his life, work, death 
for sin, resurrection, and exaltation at the right hand of God; 
subjectively it was declared to be trust in this Divine person, 


DISTINCTIVE PLEA OF THE DISCIPLES. 229 

and obedience to him. It is thus lifted entirely out of the 
region of philosophy, or speculation, and placed alike within 
the reach of the proudest philosopher, or the humblest minded 
man. How beautifully this harmonizes with the sentiment of 
Christ expressed in the words: “I thank thee, O Father, Lord 
of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from 
the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes.” 
Faith, a trust in Christ as a Divine person, comes down to the 
babe line, and mounts up to the plane of the proudest philos- 
opher, and touches every part of the intervening space. It 
consequently follows that there is one all-embracing question 
that should be propounded to everyone seeking admission into 
the Church of Christ, viz.: Do you believe with all your heart 
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Faith in 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and obedience to him, should, there- 
fore, constitute a sufficient bond of fellowship between all 
Christians. It is not a question of belief of doctrines, true or 
false, but of personal loyalty to the personal living Christ. 

All will doubtless believe much of true doctrine, and all 
will doubtless entertain more or less of erroneous opinion, 
but this need not disturb the oneness that should exist by 
virtue of the simple faith in Christ. United in this simple 
faith each can grow “ in knowledge of the truth,” according 
to his capacity and opportunity, and attain continually unto 
larger and fuller conception of Divine truth, and unto more 
perfect life and character, “till we all attain unto the unity of 
the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a full- 
grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of 
Christ. ” 

It should be noted that this position does not forbid nor 
condemn human formulations of truth. On the contrary, this 
may well be encouraged so long as these are not made binding 
upon the consciences of men, and are not put forward as tests 
of fellowship, or set up as the guages of soundness. Each 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


230 

age may thus formulate its conceptions, and there ought, by 
this means, to be a continuous growth and improvement in the 
common stock of religious ideas as we advance from age to 
age. When, however, the ideas of any age, or of any body of 
men, are formulated and made binding upon the consciences 
of other men, the end of progress has come. Against this 
the Disciples enter a vigorous protest. 

3. This plea also logically involves the questions of bap- 
tism and the Lord’s Supper. 

In the religious world great confusion exists in regard to 
these divine institutions, both in theory and practice. (1) As 
respects what is termed the mode of baptism, there is great 
diversity of practice in Protestant bodies. Some churches 
practice affusion, and others confine themselves exclusively to 
immersion. Some administer the ordinance to infants, while 
others limit it to believers. A like difference of opinion exists 
concerning its purpose or design. Some regard it as a sign of 
pardon, or cleansing, and still others a condition of pardon. 
This diversity in teaching and practice is a fruitful source of 
contention, and a ground of division among the children of 
God. (2) A like diversity of practice exists as respects the 
observance of the Lord’s Supper. Some churches practice 
close communion, others open communion. Some observe the 
ordinance every first day of the week, while others observe it 
at longer intervals, varying greatly among the different Prot- 
estant bodies. Here again is a source of confusion, and a 
ground of division. 

It follows, therefore, that those who plead for union must 
necessarily meet these questions. To enter upon the subject 
of baptism is unnecessary in this connection further than to 
briefly consider it in its immediate relations to the great cen- 
tral plea. (1) It is a very encouraging fact that amidst all 
the confusion that exists on the subject of baptism, there 
is a common ground where practically all can stand without 


DISTINCTIVE PLEA OF THE DISCIPLES. 


231 


surrender of conscience. It is almost universally admitted by 
Protestant Christians that the immersion of a penitent believer 
is valid Christian baptism. Even those denominations that 
practice affusion exclusively admit the validity of immersion. 
It is also true that a large part of the Protestant world oppose 
affusion and infant baptism on conscientious grounds. The 
Disciples, therefore, plead with all to practice the baptism that 
all can accept without sacrifice of principle, or violation of 
conscientious convictions, and reject that baptism which all 
can not thus accept. This principle, if adopted, would settle 
the question as to subject and action. As to the question of 
design, they insist on using simple Bible phraseology. Peter 
said to the believers on Pentecost : ‘ ‘ Repent ye and be bap- 
tized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, unto 
the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive the gift of 
the Holy Spirit. ” This passage evidently makes baptism a 
condition of pardon, which view is amply sustained by the 
language used in connection with other examples of conver- 
sion recorded in the Book of Acts. The Disciples have, 
as a people, always and everywhere, repudiated the doc- 
trine of baptismal regeneration. In fact, they hold that 
doctrine to be the logical background of infant baptism, and 
certainly some of the creeds, if they do not openly avow the 
doctrine, at least lean very decidedly in that direction. In- 
deed, it is hard to construe some of their utterances in any 
other way. (2) As regards the question of the Lord’s Supper, 
it has been the almost universal custom of the Disciples to 
celebrate the ordinance every first day of the week. They 
believe the custom to be abundantly sustained by both Scrip- 
ture teaching and the practice of the early church as gathered 
from the apostolic records and profane history. Here and 
there individual churches in the various denominations have 
adhered to this practice, and it certainly is the only ground 
upon which all can conscientiously unite. As regards the 


232 


THE GEE AT SAL VAT/OH. 


matter of open or close communion, it may be said that they 
hold to neither doctrine. They regard it as the table of the 
Lord, since he invites his people to gather around it and partake 
of the emblems that commemorate his broken body and shed 
blood. The apostolic injunction is : “ Let a man prove himself, 
and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” It is, 
consequently, regarded as an individual question, to be settled 
by every man for himself. 

4. As an outgrowth of the plea for union, the Disciples 
came to hold somewhat distinctive views on the subject of 
conversion. 

On this question there seemed to be a great lack of clear- 
ness in the teaching of the religious world. Churches held 
vague and indistinct views, and consequently there was great 
diversity and often conflict in the teaching of the various 
churches on this important subject. No definite and invaria- 
ble answer was given, by the religious teachers of the day, to 
the all-important question: “What must I do to be saved?” 
The chief items in the popular religious teaching bearing on 
this very practical subject may be briefly summed up as fol- 
lows: (1) The doctrine of total depravity was strenuously 
insisted upon. It was commonly taught that man was by 
nature so completely depraved that he could not think a good 
thought, speak a good word, or do a good act until quickened 
by the Spirit of God. In harmony with this it was held that 
man could not understand the word of God until his mind was 
specially illuminated by Divine grace. (2) Faith was regarded 
as the direct and immediate gift of God. (3) Conversion was 
held to be a miracle accomplished by the immediate operation 
of the Divine upon the human spirit. (4) As an evidence of 
pardon, persons were led to expect ecstatic feelings, or 
dreams, or visions, or some miraculous token by which God 
would assure the soul of the exercise of his pardoning grace. 
Consequently, persons claiming conversion were required to 


DISTINCTIVE PLEA OF THE DISCIPLES. 


233 


relate some wonderful, or miraculous, experience before they 
were admitted into the church. (5) God was represented as 
irreconciled, and as needing to be importuned and entreated to 
look with favor upon the penitent seeker for Divine clemency and 
mercy. Sometimes this importunity continued for weeks and 
months before the penitent seeker received the necessary assur- 
ance of Divine favor, and oftentimes persons failed altogether, 
and not a few were driven to infidelity, and some into insanity. 

For the purpose of accomplishing the union for which they 
plead, the Disciples propose a return to apostolic teaching 
and practice, as has been said. This return has led them to the 
following positions on this vital question: (1) The doctrine 
of human depravity, or the natural sinfulness of the heart, 
is accepted, but the doctrine of total depravity is repudiated. 
It is held that man is capable of hearing and understanding 
the gospel without a specially enabling act on the part of God, 
and that, consequently, he is responsible for its acceptance or 
rejection. (2) Faith is declared to be the result of testimony, 
or of preaching the gospel, and that, consequently, the obli- 
gation to preach the gospel as the condition of faith, is laid 
upon the church. Numerous declarations of Christ and his 
apostles are cited as proof: “Go preach the gospel to every 
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” 
“God has chosen that the Gentiles, by my mouth, shall hear 
the words of the gospel and believe.” “I am not ashamed 
of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salva- 
tion to every one that believeth.” (3) Conversion is regarded 
as a complete turning around of the individual, which is accom- 
plished by certain definite and necessary steps, which, together 
with the means of their accomplishment, are divinely indi- 
cated. The first step in the process is held to be a change of 
heart, which is brought about by faith in the Lord Jesus 
Christ. The second step is such a change of purpose as will 
eventuate in a changed life, which constitutes repentance. 


234 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


The third step is change of state, or relationship, which is 
accomplished through baptism as the divinely appointed 
means. It is held that this whole process, when complete, 
constitutes conversion. (4) The evidence of pardon is declared 
to be the plain statements of God’s word. God in his word 
promises pardon under the Christian dispensation on plainly 
expressed conditions. Compliance on the part of the sinner 
with the conditions named, necessarily insures pardon. To 
doubt this is to call in question the Divine veracity. Ecstatic 
emotions should be the result of pardon, the knowledge of 
which is based on the immutable word of God, and not on the 
shifting and fluctuating currents of human feelings. Visions 
and dreams, as an evidence of pardon, are neither supported 
by the teachings of God’s word, nor by the logical necessities 
of the case. (5) Man is represented as the irreconciled party, 
instead of God. The effort is, therefore, all manward to induce 
him to believe and accept God’s pardoning mercy, so freely 
offered on such easy and plain conditions. Persons are taught 
that they can come to God and receive pardon on God’s terms 
in the same hour of the day, as was the case in the apostolic age. 

5. It may be said that the Disciples, in the advocacy of 
their plea, have come to hold somewhat distinctive views 
respecting God’s word. 

The Protestant world, while theoretically exalting God’s 
word to the supreme place of authority in matters of faith and 
practice, virtually repudiated the doctrine in two ways: (1) 
Human creeds came to usurp the place that theoretically was 
assigned to God’s word. The human creeds occupied a more 
important place than was given to the living oracles of God ; 
(2) the word of God was dishonored and declared to be a dead 
letter unless quickened by the Divine Spirit. Such expres- 
sions as “the word alone,*’ “the mere word,” were very 
common, and not infrequently the word of God was declared 
to be utterly worthless unless vivified by some mysterious, 


DISTINCTIVE PLEA OF THE DISCIPLES. 235 

miraculous operation on the part of God. Moreover, it was 
not supposed to have different divisions devoted to different 
purposes and subjects. No clear distinction was drawn between 
the law and the gospel, and, consequently, sinners were just as 
liable to be sent to the Law of Moses as to the New Testament — 
to the Psalms of David as to the Acts of the Apostles, in order 
to learn the way of salvation. Furthermore, the rules by which 
we interpret other books, or language, addressed to the human 
understanding, were not supposed to have any application to 
the word of God. It was regarded rather as a mystery than 
as a revelation. 

It was reserved for the Disciples, in the prosecution of their 
plea, to give practical emphasis to the great doctrine of Prot- 
estantism, formulated by Chillingworth, in the words, ‘‘The 
Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible, as the 
religion of Protestants.” (i) This was first of all the logical 
result of discarding all human creeds and tests of fellowship. 
God’s word at once rose to the place of supreme authority, 
which was the great doctrine of Luther, and which now for the 
first time was realized. (2) It was declared to be living and 
powerful. The doctrine was promulgated that men were made 
believers by the Holy Spirit, not immediately, but mediately 
through the word. It was also intelligently and rationally 
divided according to the manifest purpose of different portions, 
as shown by the contents, or as declared by the writers. A 
sharp line was drawn between the law and the gospel, the latter 
being regarded as the climax of the Divine revelation, to which 
the former led up as a pedagogue. To produce faith in the 
Lord Jesus Christ was shown to be the general purpose of the 
first four books of the New Testament. To teach men how to 
become Christians by showing them how believers were made 
under the apostolic ministry, was shown to be the leading 
purpose of the Acts of the Apostles. To develop individual 
and collective Christian life and character, was held to be the 


236 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


great purpose of the Epistolary writings. The purpose in the 
last book was shown to be that of warning and encouragement. 
Sinners were, consequently, sent to the Acts of the Apostles to 
learn the way of salvation, instead of the Psalms of David. 

However, the inspiration of the whole volume was strenu- 
ously contended for. The Old Testament was declared to be 
invaluable as a book of history, and as a reservoir rich in devo- 
tional and ethical literature, and as the receptacle of the types 
and prophecies pointing forward to and corroborative of the 
New Dispensation. In short, it was held that the Bible must be 
interpreted according to the rules and principles that apply to 
all language. As a revelation of God, its language is addressed 
to the human understanding, and must be interpreted accord- 
ing to the necessary laws of language and the human mind. 
Attention was called to the fact that in order to understand 
any language we must know (i) who speaks; (2) to whom 
the language is addressed ; (3) the subject in the mind of the 
speaker ; (4) the circumstances that called forth the language. 
These important rules, so self-evident and necessary, were held 
to apply with equal force to the language of the Bible. 

We may profitably consider, — 

V. Some of the agencies at work in the religious world to-day 
that are indirectly contributing to the success of this great plea. 

1. First in order may be mentioned the Young Men’s 
Christian Association, Young Women’s Christian Association, 
and the Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor. There 
is an undenominational idea at the bottom of all these move- 
ments that strikes a popular chord in the Christian heart. 
When young people, regardless of party creeds, party names, 
and denominational lines, meet together as servants of a com- 
mon Master, and engage in a common service, and thus come 
into close fellowship with each other, the tendency is to perma- 
nently break down the barriers that divide. The inevitable drift 


DISTINCTIVE PLEA OF THE DISCIPLES. 237 

of all these movements is toward organic union, and Disciples 
should be the last people in the world to oppose such work. 

2. Next may be placed the International Series of Sunday- 
school Lessons. The logical tendency of this system of Bible 
study is toward union. It has done, and is doing, much to 
bring about this result. Some of the best thinkers in the 
religious world have called attention to serious defects in the 
plan and method, and yet no other system can make any head- 
way against it. The idea that the children of all Protestant 
Christians shall on the same day, at the same time, study the 
same portion of God’s word, is immensely popular with Chris- 
tian people. Disciples, of all people in the world, should 
support this system of lessons. The demand for change, 
occasionally heard in certain quarters, is utterly inconsistent 
with their plea for union. They may labor to overcome the 
defects, but they should never think of abandoning the system 
so long as other religious people adhere to it. They have 
everything to gain, and nothing to lose by continuing its use. 

3. Foreign Missions may also be cited as a potent agency 
for union. It seems to be well-nigh impossible to successfully 
transport sectarianism across the Pacific Ocean. It requires 
great effort on the part of missionaries to keep denominational 
lines intact on the foreign field. The tendency among con- 
verts on the mission field is strongly toward union. There 
seems to be little or no sympathy with those sectarian peculi- 
arities of which so much has been made by the Protestant 
world in the past. Missionaries are compelled to preach the 
simple story of the cross instead of the abstruse metaphysical 
doctrines of the creeds, which is, in fact, the Apostolic 
method. The reflex influence of Foreign Mission work is 
strongly in the direction of union, and for this reason, if for 
no other, every Disciple should strongly favor Foreign Mission 
work. The Disciples ought to be the best missionary people 
in the world. 


238 


THE GREA T SAL VA TJON . 


4. The Christian Woman’s Temperance Union may also be 
mentioned as tending in no small degree toward Christian 
union. Here, too, denominational lines are utterly disre- 
garded by hundreds of thousands of Christian women who 
have banded themselves together for a common work of phil- 
anthropy and love. The tendency must be to strengthen the 
common Christian bonds, and to weaken sectarian ties. 

VI. The promise of success in the results achieved. 

1. The indirect results are many and encouraging. Chris- 
tian union has become a popular theme in the pulpit and relig- 
ious press of the day. Leading men in all denominations are 
beginning to speak out with boldness and clearness in the 
advocacy of organic union, and there is a generous response 
in the common Christian heart. 

Sectarian prejudice is gradually growing weaker. A half 
century ago, the war and strife were very bitter, and such a 
thing as exchange of pulpits between the preachers of the dif- 
ferent denominations was almost unknown. Now a large 
amount of charity and brotherly love exist, and preachers 
exchange pulpits with great freedom, and with pleasure to the 
congregations to which they minister. 

The authority of creeds is growing very weak. To obtain 
membership in a sectarian church without formally subscribing 
to the creed was once impossible. Now the formal acceptance 
of the creed, in many cases, is not insisted upon, and it is 
no uncommon thing to hear persons, holding membership in 
some of the denominations, boasting that they have never 
read the creed of their church. 

Cooperation in evangelization, and other forms of benevo- 
lent Christian work, is becoming very popular. This was very 
rare a generation ago. Much more Scriptural methods obtain 
in evangelistic meetings. The simplicity discoverable in the 
apostolic methods of making Christians is gradually being 


DISTINCTIVE PLEA OF THE DISCIPLES. 


239 


reproduced in modern evangelization, which presents a striking 
contrast to the methods in vogue in the recent past. 

2. The direct results are most cheering. A people num- 
bering nearly one million have accepted this plea, and, in their 
organized capacity, they stand for union, and as a protest 
against division. 

The present progress of this movement is greater than at 
any previous time, (i) At least fifty thousand persons are 
being annually added to this brotherhood. (2) Church build- 
ings are being rapidly erected, and the cause everywhere is 
being placed on a more solid basis. (3) A much more com- 
pact and efficient organization is gradually being effected 
without in any way interfering with the liberties and independ- 
ence of the churches. Effective cooperation for the spread of 
the gospel at home and abroad is gradually being secured. 
(4) Our educational work is slowly but surely being placed on 
a more solid basis. Our colleges are becoming better en- 
dowed ; higher ideas of ministerial education obtain ; and the 
prospect is that our future ministerial force, in quantity, quality, 
and preparation will furnish grounds for sincere congratulation 
and large expectations. (5) A literature of which we need not 
be ashamed has been produced, which is being constantly 
improved by valuable additions. That our mission is not yet 
completed, no one can doubt. In harmony with the divine plan 
and purpose, a separate organization will be needed until our 
great peculiar truth becomes generally recognized, and passes 
into the keeping of all who accept Christ as King. 

That this auspicious day is rapidly approaching, all the 
signs of the time plainly indicate. Soon God’s people will be 
one, in harmony with the prayer of Christ. Then the begin- 
ning of the end will have come ; the condition upon which the 
evangelization of the world is suspended will be realized, which 
soon will be followed by the victorious shout of Christ’s 
conquering legions. 


CHAPTER II. 


THE CREED THAT NEEDS NO REVISION.* 

The problem of man’s highest good involves the three great 
factors — human character, human condition, and human des- 
tiny. Whatever determines all or any of these must necessa- 
rily arrest the thought and hold the attention of men. To 
develop the noblest human character, to procure the best hu- 
man conditions, to secure the highest human destiny, are the 
problems that call forth the efforts of the philanthropist, the 
statesman, and the theologian. The highest possible results 
in these directions must of necessity constitute the supreme 
good of man. 

It is a truth evolved from human experience that the best 
results in human character and conduct are secured through 
the operation of internal forces and principles. The fountain 
of highest good and purest happiness lies within the soul. 
In harmony with this are the words of Solomon, ‘‘Keep thy 
heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life,” 
and the great Apostle to the Gentiles declared that “With 
the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” It follows, 
therefore, that the question of creed is one of supreme import- 
ance, inasmuch as this is the mainspring of human action and 
the dominating force in human life. 

'• This chapter consists of an address delivered in Chicago in 1893 at the World’s Congress 
of Churches, and is published together with the other addresses of the Congress, in a volume 
issued by S. J. Clark, by whose consent it appears in this book. It is incorporated in this 
connection because it stands in logical and close relation to the preceding chapter, and in fact 
to the entire book. We feel it necessary, however, to say that this article was prepared inde- 
pendently, and even before this volume was commenced. It happens, therefore, that an 
occasional thought found in this article is found in substance elsewhere in this book. 

24U 


THE CREED THAT NEEDS NO REVISION. 241 

It is not our purpose to discuss this question in its broadest 
sense, embracing as it does all possible shades of belief on all 
possible subjects, much of which is purely speculative and 
inert, exerting no influence on character or life. We hold, 
however, that there is an all-embracing, dominant creed that 
needs no revision, under the influence of which the best human 
conditions are realized, the highest character developed, and 
the happiest destiny secured. 

In order to facilitate our search for this vital, essential 
creed, we will inquire, — 

I. What its characteristics must necessarily be. 

Inasmuch as we are seeking for the creed which will deter- 
mine the highest good of mankind as a whole, and not merely 
the good of individuals or classes, we argue that, — 

i. It must possess universality. A class creed is not the 
creed we are seeking. There are certain doctrines that seem 
to have peculiar charms for certain individuals or classes, and 
that consequently do, within a certain radius, exercise marked 
power; but these same thoughts, so powerful within certain 
limits, are apparently powerless in certain other circles. Some 
forms of truth attract the philosophic mind, others impress 
powerfully the imaginative mind, others dominate the practical 
mind ; but the truth which we are seeking must appeal to the 
universal heart. No class man is the ideal man socially, 
politically, or religiously ; no class party is the party of real 
patriotism ; no class church is the church of God ; no class 
creed holds in keeping the highest good of man. Profound 
students of history have pointed out the fact that the great 
races and nations have been made by some powerful dominant 
thought. It has been shown that Rome was made by the 
thought of power or government, and that she consequently 
became the great civil lawgiver among the nations; that 
Greece was made by the thought of perfection or wisdom, and 


242 


THE GEE A T SAL VA TJON. 


that consequently she has given us a wonderful philosophy, 
language, and art; that Israel had in keeping a religious idea, 
“One true and living God,” and that consequently the mis- 
sion of this people has been to give to the world a true and 
adequate revelation of God ; that the Anglo-Saxon race has 
had in keeping the thought of freedom, and that consequently 
this people have given to men the constitutions and charters 
of civil and religious liberty. The creed we are seeking must 
not be the one or the other of these thoughts, nor must it be 
the thought of any single race or nation ; and yet, in so far as 
these ideas are true and necessary to the highest good of man, 
it must embrace them all. It must be universal in its adapta- 
bility to the universal heart, and it must comprehend the domi- 
nant thoughts out of which happiest conditions spring. 

2. It must be simple. It must come down to the level of 
the humblest mind. There is a common level in human com- 
prehension and understanding on which the entire race may 
gather. Then, too, there are elevated plains and lofty moun- 
tains unvisited except by the favored few who are enabled to 
mount upward in thought as upon the wings of eagles. The 
creed which needs no revision must come down to the common 
intellectual plane of the race. The fruit that we are seeking 
must grow on the lower boughs of God’s great tree of bless- 
ing, ^vithin the reach of the hand of a child. 

3. It must be profound. It must satisfy the most grasping 
and comprehensive mind. It must feed the deepest intellectual 
and spiritual hunger, and quench the keenest intellectual and 
spiritual thirst. If it fail here it will lose its hold upon the 
thought of the world. No intellect, however gigantic, must 
ever pass beyond it, or its mission for that man is ended before 
his highest possibilities are reached. 

4. It must have vitality. It must be a living, growing 
reality, meeting man at every point of his upward progress 
with satisfying power. It must never grow insipid or tasteless ; 


THE CREED THAT NEEDS NO REVISION. 243 

but, on the contrary, it must always answer the intellectual 
and spiritual appetite with keenest zest. To do this it must be 
capable of as much expansion as is the soul of man. It must 
be a vital germ, which, when planted in the soil of the heart, 
will develop into a great tree, occupying the whole space and 
yielding the entire fruitage of life. 

5. It must be life-giving and practical. Its mission is to 
quicken the latent powers of the soul and call forth the best 
there is in man physically, intellectually, and spiritually. It 
must be potent to start man on the road to highest possibili- 
ties, and lead him onward to their achievement. In short, it 
must thrill the soul, touch the heart, win the affections and hold 
them in its all-powerful embrace. No mere speculation can do 
this. No purely intellectual dogma can profoundly and lastingly 
rule the individual. To accomplish such result the emotions 
must be reached, and the affections enlisted. The creed that 
needs no revision must of necessity possess this power. 

6. It must serve as a sufficient bond of fellowship between 
all Christian hearts. An unprejudiced study of the great relig- 
ious denominations will reveal to the candid mind that each 
great body has a characteristic differentiating truth. Each 
great religious leader has laid hold of some great truth with 
more or less clearness, and around this the religious sect or 
party has crystallized. Luther grasped the thought that God’s 
Word was the people’s book and the supreme authority in 
religion ; Calvin grasped the idea of the Divine sovereignty ; 
Arminius, the idea of the freedom of the human will and indi- 
vidual responsibility; Wesley, the idea of spiritual religion; 
the Campbells, the idea of the union of the people of God on 
the basis of simple Apostolic Christianity. A superficial view 
might lead to the conclusion that each religious party has 
crystallized about a number of peculiar tenets, but a closer 
study will reveal the fact that there is generally one great 
central truth, and that out of this, secondary or subordinate 


244 


THE GREA T SAL VA T10N. 


truths have sprung ; although sometimes the subordinate truth 
has been so emphasized as to obscure the great central 
thought. In order, therefore, to clearly understand a religious 
people, it is necessary to grasp clearly the one characteristic 
truth that gives meaning and significance to every other item, 
and by which its adherents have been separated from all other 
religious bodies. All differentiation, however, has not been 
caused by some peculiar truth. Sometimes error has been the 
cause of division, and just to the extent that this is true is 
fellowship hindered. Error can never become the basis of uni- 
versal religious fellowship. Two things, therefore, are neces- 
sary in order to secure that perfect unity which is essential to 
our happiness, and conducive to our largest growth. First, 
error must be eradicated ; and, second, the peculiar truth of 
each must become the common possession of all. The creed 
for which we are seeking must, therefore, be potent to displace 
erroneous ideas, or to so dominate the thought as to neutralize 
their power ; and it must be so large and comprehensive that 
it embraces the great truth of each great religious body. Each 
party must see that the acceptance of this creed involves the 
acceptance of its own vital and essential truth, and that it 
therefore constitutes a sufficient basis for the broadest and 
fullest Christian fellowship. 

7. It must furnish a model for imitation. Character is 
formed on the principle of imitation. Abstract rules and 
maxims of life can never result in the highest development. 
We can not imitate abstractions, nor can these hold the soul 
under its greatest strain. It therefore follows that laws, even 
though they be ever so perfect, can never save man in any 
high sense. Outside rules and regulations can never produce 
a perfect life. Herein was the weakness of Judaism. It 
worked from the outside largely. It was a system of external 
checks and restraints, never intended as a final system for all 
men, but merely as a restraining influence on the life of one 


THE CREED THAT NEEDS NO REVISION. 


245 


nation, through which the promised seed was to come. Paul 
says, “It was added because of transgression until the seed 
should come.” It was imperfect as a final system, for the 
reason that external precepts can never produce the highest 
type of man. It furnished no perfect model for imitation, 
and inspired not the necessary love. Even the decalogue as a 
mere legal code must pass away. God himself can not save 
the world by laws written by pen or graven by chisel. Some 
method must be adopted that will write the laws upon the 
heart, and there is only one thing that will accomplish this, 
and that is a life. It must be a person to call forth love. The 
creed for which we are seeking must, therefore, in its objective 
phase be a person, and not an abstract doctrine or a formulated 
code of laws and regulations. 

8. It must be an incarnation of God. If it be true that 
character is formed on the principle of imitation, it follows 
that a perfect character can only be formed by imitating a per- 
fect model; and until perfection be reached it can not be said 
that the highest possibilities are attained. It seems to me 
clear, therefore, that the highest human development logically 
demands a Divine incarnation as its model, ridicule it who may. 
It is also true that the limitations of the human understand- 
ing demand an incarnation. We are so constituted mentally 
that abstractions elude us. We reach the abstract and general 
through the concrete and particular. For example, love em- 
bodied in an act reveals itself more clearly to our comprehen- 
sion than love discussed in the abstract. It therefore follows 
that a clear conception of the Divine attributes demands the 
incarnation of these attributes, by which means they are con- 
cretely presented to the human mind. In this process a 
universal want is met. The desire to know God is natural and 
right. When Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and it 
sufificeth us,” he expressed a widespread — nay, may I not say 
a universal? — desire. Admitting the existence of the Father, is 


246 


THE GREAT SAL VAT10N. 


it not a universal, spontaneous cry, 4 i Show us the Father and 
it sufficeth us”? — sufficeth as an answer to our deepest desires 
and as a model for our imitation. To answer this cry has been 
the great purpose and effort of God. The climax of all reve- 
lation is the revelation of the Divine person, but, of necessity, 
it must be a matter of slow unfolding. The completest answer 
given concerning God during the Mosaic dispensation is mys- 
terious in its completeness. When Moses was sent to deliver 
his people, and asked God on what authority he should justify 
his mission, he was told to say that the “I am that I am ” had 
sent him. Wonderful utterance ! Who can grasp its myste- 
rious meaning ? Complete, doubtless, and yet how incomplete 
as weighed in the scales of human desire and human compre- 
hension ! Self-existence neither answers my longing nor comes 
within the radius of my understanding. Some fuller, simpler 
definition must be given, or my hungry soul will never be fed. 
The creed for which we are seeking must reveal God in a way 
to meet the soul’s capacities and the soul’s desires. 

9. It must be of such a nature that every man can readily 
and easily translate it into his own language without loss. 
There are certain forms of thought that are native to but one 
language. They belong to the tongue in which they are first 
expressed, and can not be expressed in any other language 
without serious loss. This is characteristic to a greater or less 
extent of all purely philosophical truth. Each great language 
has its own philosophy, and this can not be fully comprehended 
until it is read in its own native language. To translate it into 
another tongue means to destroy, in a measure, its own pecu- 
liar charm and fragrance. The only form of truth that is 
largely independent of translation is a life. A bare, unvar- 
nished statement of facts that reveals a life in all its essential 
features is independent of the errors and limitations of transla- 
tions. Truth in a life always and everywhere carries the same 
charm and breathes the same fragrance. It is something that 


THE CREED THAT NEEDS NO REV/S/ON 


247 


every man can read and translate for himself. It therefore fol- 
lows that the creed for which we are seeking will, when found, 
be in the form of a life, and not in the form of a philosophical 
statement of doctrines. 

10. It must be a full and complete revelation of the glory 
of God. To behold God’s glory is a great necessity, for not 
until this is revealed to the soul will the highest ideal appear. 
Moses on one occasion said, “Lord, show me thy glory/’ and 
in this request he expressed the deepest necessity of the soul. 
It is quite equivalent to saying, “Lord, show me thy crown- 
ing excellence, the highest, grandest, completest exhibition of 
thyself.” It meant, “Lord, show me thine own ideal real- 
ized,” for the realization of the Divine ideal, must, of necessity, 
constitute the Divine glory. God’s answer is wonderfully sig- 
nificant. He might have said, “Behold my power, for I am 
omnipotent ; behold my wisdom, for I am omniscient ; behold 
my riches, for I own all things.” Power, wisdom, riches have 
constituted the chief glory of men. Their attainment has 
been the goal of human ambition. The answer that God gave 
is, therefore, the more striking and suggestive. “Behold,” 
he said, “I will make my goodness to pass before thee.” 
God’s glory, therefore, lies along the line of moral excellence. 
It is his goodness that gives to him his crown of glory, and as 
this is concretely revealed to the soul, the highest possible 
ideal appears. 

11. It must be perfect, incapable of improvement as an 
objective reality. While it may, yea, must, grow and expand, 
as the soul grows in its powers to measure and comprehend it, 
objectively it must be absolutely perfect. Every imperfect 
thing will sooner or later be revised. “ Ne plus ultra ” must be 
written on everything that claims exemption from revision. It 
follows, therefore, that the creed we are seeking has never 
been written by man, nor can it ever be. The best human con- 
ceptions of a perfect objective reality are necessarily imperfect. 


248 


THE GREA T SAL VA T10N. 


Perfection can never be born of imperfection, the infinite of 
the finite. So long as our creeds are but the formulations 
of our conceptions of truth, or even of a life, so long will our 
creeds be subject to revision. We may formulate our ideas 
and declare them to be perfect, and for ages they may hold 
their place in the thought of the world. In defense of these 
ideas many a theological battle may be fought. On account 
of reverence for that which is old, or by reason of the parti- 
sanship begotten by these fierce battles, these creeds may long 
be held as sacred, but finally the time comes when some one 
has the courage to say, “My conception is larger and better; 
the creed, venerable and sacred as it is, must be revised.” As 
long as men make creeds in this way, so long will this process 
be repeated, unless the human soul be fettered in its growth 
or its limitations be reached. It therefore follows that all 
creeds that are but the formulations of human conceptions of 
Divine truth, are fetters upon the growth of the soul, and 
stumbling blocks in the road of religious progress. Conse- 
quently, the creed for which we are seeking is not some hu- 
man conception of great truth, no matter how large and noble 
that conception may be. Neither the so-called Apostolic 
Creed, nor the Athanasian Creed, nor the Nicene Creed, nor 
the five points of Calvinism, nor the counter points of Armin- 
ianism, nor the Westminster Confession, nor any other formu- 
lated code expressing human conceptions of Divine things, is 
the creed that needs no revision. These systems, no matter 
how much truth they may contain, have all the imperfections 
and limitations to which the human mind is subject. If they 
must exist, let them be revised and enlarged in their expres- 
sion to keep pace with the enlarged conceptions of men result- 
ing from the fuller light constantly being thrown upon the 
Divine truth, and the necessary growth of the human mind 
under the forces of education and culture and a constantly 
increasing Christian experience. 


THE CREED THAT NEEDS NO REVISION. 


249 


Having decided upon some of the necessary characteristics 
of the creed that needs no revision, we next inquire, — 

II. Where is the source to which we must, of necessity, look 
for such a creed ? 

Enough has been said to show that we are necessarily cut 
off from all human sources. At once we turn to the source 
Divine and inquire, Has God given us a creed that needs no 
revision ? 

i. God has spoken to man in two great volumes — nature 
and revelation. Bearing in mind the necessary characteristics 
of this creed, we must see at a glance we can not hope to find 
it in the book of nature. This book fails in at least two im- 
portant particulars. It lacks first of all the necessary simplic- 
ity and clearness. Only a few favored ones are able to inter- 
pret its message to us, and even these do not always read it 
alike. One looks out on the material world and says, * ‘There 
is no God another looks up to the starry dome and piously 
exclaims, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the 
firmament showeth his handiwork.” Its language needs to be 
interpreted, and here at once is introduced the human, and 
consequently fallible and imperfect, element. The poet is one 
who, living close to the heart of nature, is able to interpret 
it to us in its varied and changing moods ; and yet each poet 
brings his own message, and succeeding ages will bring new 
poets with new messages to thrill the soul, and each in some 
sense will act as a reviser of those who went before. All this 
bears testimony to the truth so beautifully expressed by one 
of our country’s bards : 

“To him who, in the love of nature, holds 
Communion with her visible forms, she speaks 
A various language.” . . . 

All past experience shows, moreover, that the deepest questions 


250 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


of the soul nature has never answered, and the profoundest 
longings of the heart she has never satisfied. 

The laboratory of the chemist has not been able to discover 
the nature of the mystery of life ; the microscope of the anat- 
omist has not been able to discern the soul that dwells in this 
tenement of clay;* the telescope of the astronomer has not 
been able to pierce the mist that hangs upon the end of life’s 
pathway, and reveal the land that lies beyond. Important as 
has been the service that great souls have performed for the 
race in these material realms, to discover the invisible spiritual 
realities has not been their mission, nor can it ever be. 

2. We next turn to the book of revelation as the only 
remaining source of the creed for which we are seeking. Mark, 
I say, “the source”; for I am not of the number who hold the 
Bible itself to be that creed. The necessary characteristics of 
this creed precludes such a possibility, but the Bible must, of 
necessity, be the source of the divinely revealed creed. Every 
real student of the Bible must needs be impressed with the 
fact that there is a presence that fills this history, from 
the moment that sin entered the world, while yet man 
moved amidst the pristine beauties of his Edenic home, 
ever onward through all the wondrous unfolding and devel- 
opment, until the final consummation, when, amidst exultant 
shouts of adoring angels, the Son shall deliver the king- 
dom to the Father, that “God may be all in all.” This 
presence is foreshadowed in the curse pronounced upon the 
serpent tempter in the language, “It shall bruise thy head.” 
The safety to be enjoyed in him is prefigured in the ark, 
whereby eight souls were saved from the destruction that 
befell a doomed world. The universal blessing to come 
through him is embraced in the promise to faithful Abraham, 
in the words, “In thy seed shall all the families of the earth 
be blessed.” Jacob pointed to his coming when he said, “The 
scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from 


1 HE CREED THAT NEEDS NO REVISION. 251 

between his feet, until Shiloh come.” Moses announced his 
coming in the language, “A prophet shall the Lord your God 
raise up unto you like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things.” 
David described his triumphal entrance through the gates of 
the eternal city when he sang, “Lift up your heads, O ye 
gates, even be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King 
of glory shall come in.” Isaiah was thrilled with the majesty 
of his presence when he said, “His name shall be called 
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince 
of Peace.” Rejoicing in his complete sufficiency, he ex- 
claimed, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, 
and he that hath no money come buy and eat.” Pointing to 
the coming beneficence, he said, ‘ ‘ The isles shall wait for his 
law.” Zechariah’s patriotic soul was kindled with enthusiasm 
when he declared, “His dominion shall be from sea to sea and 
from the river to the ends of the earth.” Daniel, in far-dis- 
tant Babylon, looked down the ages and saw and declared the 
time of his supreme sacrifice. The Angel Gabriel thrilled the 
soul of the virgin mother when he said, “The Holy Ghost shall 
come upon thee and the power of the highest shall overshadow 
thee ; therefore the Holy thing which shall be born of thee 
shall be called the Son of God.” The angelic messengers 
announced his advent in the inspiring language, “Behold, I 
bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all peo- 
ple ; for there is born unto you this day, in the city of David, 
a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” The angels in their 
divine philanthropy celebrated his arrival in the eloquent song, 

* ‘ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good- 
will to men!” The Magi of the East acknowledged his pres- 
ence by a long pilgrimage, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, 
and myrrh. The pious Simeon, when his eyes beheld the 
long-expected One, said, “Now lettest thou thy servant depart 
in peace, O Lord, ... for mine eyes have seen thy 
salvation.” The stern, ascetic prophet of the wilderness 


252 


THE GREA T SAL VA T10N. 


acknowledged his own inferiority when he said, “I have need 
to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?” The spiritual 
John declared the wonderful Divine mystery in the language, 
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God 
and the Word was God. . . . And the Word was made flesh 
and dwelt among us.” Finally, in summing up the purpose 
of his Gospel, he said, “Many other signs therefore did Jesus 
in the presence of his disciples, that are not written in this 
book; but these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is 
the Christ, the Son of God ; and believing, ye may have life in 
his name.” He also declared the startling truth, “He that 
hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God 
hath not life.” Peter felt the impotency of all other helpers 
when he said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the 
words of eternal life.” Paul grasped the fullness of the Divine 
manifestation when he declared, “I determined to know noth- 
ing among you but Jesus and him crucified.” Jesus recognized 
his own superiority when, in asking baptism of John, he said, 
“ Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all 
righteousness.” He understood the human need and his own 
sufficiency when he said, “Without me ye can do nothing.” 
“If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink.” He 
recognized his own authority when he said, “ He that hath my 
commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.” 
“All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on 
earth.” He comprehended the scope of his mission when he 
said, “ Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every 
creature.” He announced the grandeur of his own personality 
and work in the language to John on Patmos, “ I am the root 
and offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And 
the Spirit and the bride say come, and let him that heareth say 
come, and let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will let 
him take of the water of life freely.” Finally God himself 
placed the seal of his own approval upon all these claims 


THE CREED THAT NEEDS NO REVISION. 253 

when, on the Mount of Transfiguration, he declared, ‘ ‘This is 
my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” 
Here, then, is the presence that fills the volume, the Divine 
personality that constitutes the Alpha and Omega of Divine 
revelation. Here is the creed that needs no revision, 4 ‘for in 
him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” He 
could truthfully say, “He that hath seen me hath seen the 
Father.” It is not the Bible, but it is revealed in the Bible. 
It is not a philosophy, but a Divine personality. It is not a 
human conception, but a divinely perfect revelation as em- 
bodied in a divinely perfect life. 

III. This creed meets fully and completely all the conditions 
named. 

i. It has the element of universality, embodying the great 
thoughts that have made great races and nations. Does the 
Jew wish to see his own great truth in all its fullness? — let him 
listen to Matthew while he unfolds the national idea of “one 
true and living God ” as it shines in all his glorious perfection 
in Jesus the Messiah. When without prejudice he can listen 
to this witness as he points out the scores of prophecies ful- 
filled in this matchless life, he will be led to exclaim, “This is 
the one of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did 
write.” Does the Roman wish to behold his own national 
ideal of power and dominion ? — let him listen to Mark, as he 
unfolds the life of the Almighty King and Conqueror, picturing 
his advent, his claim to dominion, his conflict with opposing 
powers, his suffering and sacrifice, by which all true domain is 
won, and finally the King enthroned and the universal empire 
established. What could more powerfully impress the mind, 
saturated by the Roman spirit, than the life of Jesus as por- 
trayed by Mark? Does the Greek wish to see his national 
thought of perfection vividly illustrated ?— let him contemplate 
the picture given by Luke as he paints the Perfect Man in his 


254 


THE GREA T SAL VA TJOiV. 


advent, work, sacrifice for all men, and finally as the Saviour 
of all nations.* Does the liberty-loving Anglo-Saxon wish to 
discover the thought underlying all charters and constitu- 
tions of liberty ? — let him study the teaching and the life of 
him who spake as never man spake, and acted as never man 
acted; who in word and deed declared the greatest thing on 
earth to be man, and that, too, intrinsically , and apart from 
the accidents of wealth, wisdom, position, or power. Does 
the most spiritually-minded man wish to behold the highest 
ideal of spiritual life? — let him contemplate the character por- 
trayed by John in all of its spiritual perfection and lofty attain- 
ment of spiritual power. The world has had many great 
men — large-souled, large-hearted, philanthropic men — but it 
has had but one absolutely universal man, and that was Jesus 
of Nazareth. Every other man has had limitations upon him, 
either in thought, or feeling, or purpose ; but Jesus is without 
limitation. His thought, sympathy, purpose, are as broad as 
is humanity. 

2. It is very simple. The most gigantic intellect may fail 
to comprehend this person in all of his Divine completeness, 
but a child can accept him and trust him for salvation. Here 
the creed strikes the lowest level. It may require great intel- 
lectual acuteness to believe in some dogmas, but to trust in a 
person comes within the radius of every man’s power when 
the grounds of confidence are fully established. Therefore 
said Jesus, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, 
because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent 
and revealed them unto babes.” This is but to say that the 
faith that saves is not a matter of intellectual acuteness — other- 
wise but few could be blessed by it ; but a matter of child-like 
trustfulness ; and here it touches the common intellectual 
plane of the race. 


This analysis of Mark and Luke follows Gregory as given by Butler. 


THE CREED THAT NEEDS NO REVISION. 255 

3. It is very profound. If it reaches down to the lowest 
and rises to the highest. 4 ‘Hear ye him” may be said to a 
Newton, a Kepler, a Franklin, or an Agassiz, as well as to a 
simple-minded child, and all will listen with profound respect, 
and uncover their heads in reverence, exclaiming, “Surely, 
never man spake like this man !” 

4. It has wonderful vitality. It grows as the soul expands. 
At every point of development this mighty personality meets 
the soul and satisfies its demands. There is never any sense 
of want, or feeling of disappointment. Every great question 
of the heart is met with an answer so profound as to satisfy 
the most grasping intellect, and always the impression is left 
upon the mind that there is more beyond. Well has he said, 
“I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” To the little child 
he says, “I am with thee,” and he suits his words and actions 
to the needs of the child heart ; to the philosopher he says, 
“ I am with thee,” and he enters and sups with him, affording 
the most satisfying fellowship and companionship. 

5. It is vitalizing and practical. It quickens the latent 
energies of the soul, and thaws the natural coldness of the 
heart, as the vernal sun melts the ice and snows of winter, 
quickening every dormant germ into new life. It not only 
stimulates man to highest endeavor, but it goes before him and 
with ever-beckoning hand says, “Come up higher.” John, 
after he had followed its lead for many years, exclaimed, “It 
doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when 
he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as 
he is.” 

6. It serves as the necessary bond of fellowship between 
all true believers. It embraces the great religious thought of 
all great Christian bodies. To accept the Divine Christ is to 
exalt God’s word to the place of supreme authority, and de- 
clare it to be the book of the people, for the book that reveals 
the Saviour of man must, of necessity, be the supreme 


256 


THE GEE AT SALVATION. 


authority and the book of man. To accept the Christ is to 
exalt the idea of Divine sovereignty, for such a faith lays hold 
of him who said, “All authority in heaven and on earth is 
given unto me.” To believe in Jesus is to magnify human 
responsibility, in that it accepts him who said, “He that be- 
lieveth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth 
not sh'all be damned.” “Him that cometh to me I will in no 
wise cast out.” To believe in Jesus is to exalt spiritual relig- 
ion, for it lays hold of him who said, “It is expedient for you 
that I go away, for if I go not away the Comforter will not 
come, but if I go away I will send him unto you.” “I will 
pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter, that 
he may abide with you forever ; even the Spirit of truth, whom 
the world can not receive because it seeth him not, neither 
knoweth him; but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you 
arid shall be in you.” To believe in Jesus is to lay hold of 
practical, spiritual Christianity, resting on the two great pillars 
of Divine power and human cooperation. To believe in Jesus is 
to magnify the idea of the union of the people of God, since 
it is a reliance on him who said, “ Neither pray I for these 
alone, but for all them also who shall believe on me through 
their word, that they also may be one.” It is to accept 
the doctrine that all are one in God by virtue of faith in 
Christ, and hence brethren whom no barriers erected by man 
should divide. 

7. It furnishes a perfect model for imitation. It seeks to 
regulate life, not by abstract principles or outward expressions 
of law, but by giving to man a perfect pattern for imitation. 
Paul realized the nature of this creed and its concrete excel- 
lence when he said, “Be ye followers of me as I am of Christ.” 
It begets the love out of which all true life and action must 
spring, by presenting to the heart of man “the chiefest among 
the ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely,” that he may 
win our affections, and thus mold us into the Divine image. 


THE CREED THAI NEEDS NO REVISION. 


257 


In practical results it accomplishes all that is theoretically- 
demanded of it. Under its magic influence a man capable of 
profane blasphemy becomes a bold, courageous Peter; a son 
of thunder, a loving, gentle John; a bitter persecutor, a heroic 
Paul. But should we fail to see a single instance of absolute 
perfection, at least let us remember that “He gave some apos- 
tles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some 
pastors, and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the 
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ ; 
till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge 
of the Son of God unto a Perfect Man, unto the measure of 
the stature of the fullness of Christ/’ 

8. It is an incarnation, and in this it meets the constitu- 
tional demands of the soul. It is God manifest in the flesh, 
God on the plane of human life. Divine power, wisdom, 
goodness, mercy, and love are revealed in a divinely power- 
ful, wise, good, merciful, loving Being, that stands upon the 
human plane and declares, “He that hath seen me hath seen 
the Father.” How the hideous, distorted, unnatural, revolt- 
ing views of God are dispelled as we see him when he reveals 
himself in the incarnation, which is the only revelation per- 
fectly adapted to the capacities and powers of the soul ! He 
who ridicules the incarnation shows himself to be profoundly 
ignorant of his own powers. He knows not what manner of 
man he is ; but God, who made the soul, knows its capacities 
and limitations, and adapts his revelation of himself to the 
creature he has made. In this incarnation the desire to know 
God is fully satisfied. The definition given to Moses, so pro- 
found, and yet so cold and disappointing, after ages of waiting 
is now completed in a way to gratify, yea, thrill, the heart. 
No longer is God content to say to man’s inquiring soul, “I 
am that I am,” but to the hungry he says, “ I am bread” ; to 
the thirsty, “ I am water”; to the sick, “I am the great phy- 
sician”; to those conscious of their need of care, “I am the 


258 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


good shepherd ” ; to the lost, “lam the way ”; to the home- 
less, “lam the door ” ; to the seeker after knowledge, “lam 
the truth ” ; to those living in fear of death, “I am the resur- 
rection and the life.” 

9. It can be easily read by all men. Love has been called 
the universal language, and Jesus, the Son of God, is but the 
expression of God’s love. “God so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him 
might not perish but have everlasting life.” This vital, essen- 
tial truth is the soil in which all the trees of heavenly planting 
grow. This love of God expressed in Jesus is the great 
central luminary from which all other orbs of truth borrow 
their light. This truth as expressed in a life of loving action 
can be understood by all; and, therefore, it is said, “His life 
was the light of men.” Herein lies the reason why Jesus did 
not write a book on ethics, or promulgate a philosophy of 
truth. In order to present the vital truth, out of which 
noblest character, best conditions, and highest destiny spring, 
in a way that all can grasp it and understand it, he simply 
embodied it in a life. Truth thus expressed is not at the mercy 
of the translator, nor is it circumscribed by the limitations of 
any language. 

10. It completely reveals the glory of God, and in so doing 
places before man the highest possible, ideal of life. God de- 
clared to Moses that his goodness was his glory, but as an 
abstraction this could not be comprehended by man. He 
therefore placed his goodness before us in the concrete. He 
embodied it in a person. Paul therefore says, “He [Christ] 
was the effulgence of his [the Father’s] glory and the express 
image of his substance.” He also says, “We, beholding as 
in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same 
image from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord.” 
This creed would correct all false standards of human great- 
ness. It shows us that the highest possible excellence is 


THE CREED THAT NEEDS NO REF/S/ON. 259 

independent of any adventitious circumstance. It is reached 
by a gradual process — by passing from glory to glory until the 
Divine ideal is realized in man. 

ii. It is perfect. In this creed no imperfection has ever 
been discovered. The strongest light of criticism has revealed 
no flaw. It fills the soul and meets the highest expectations. 
The most fertile imagination can suggest no improvement. 
Pilate declared, “I find no fault in him,” and after eighteen 
centuries this verdict is reaffirmed by the wisest and best men. 
The risen Lord, the living, loving Redeemer, the Divine 
Christ, is “the all in all”; he constitutes the all-sufficient por- 
tion of the soul. This is the rock Jesus referred to when he 
said, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of 
hell shall not prevail against it.” Therefore, the all-embracing, 
all-sufficient question is, “Do you believe with all your heart 
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God?” The 
confession of this truth is a declaration that the soul has laid 
hold upon Christ by faith, and when this is done, it has a creed 
that needs no revision. To accept this and all that it involves, 
is to build upon the foundation referred to by Paul in the 
language, “ Other foundations can no man lay than that which 
is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 

IV. The benefits resulting from such a creed. 

i. Its acceptance produces a feeling of restfulness and 
confidence. Everything in the world around us with which we 
come in daily contact is subject to change. There is nothing 
that has in it the stable,, enduring quality. The words “passing 
away” seem to be written upon all material things. Human 
life is made up of an unending round of changes. The widest 
extremes in condition are brought very close together. The 
lights and shades of life are wondrously and strangely blended. 
Amidst all this fluctuation and change the soul hungers for 
something that is fixed and enduring. It yearns for some 


260 


THE GREA T S ALVA TION. 


stable, sure foundation upon which to build its hopes, some 
unchanging object on which to place its affections. This creed 
answers this deep yearning, and fully meets this ardent desire. 
“ Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever” is 
the rock that endures amidst all the changing vicissitudes of 
time. In him there is a safe harbor, a secure resting-place for 
the soul amidst the tempests of life. 

2. It will deprive infidelity of its most powerful weapon. 
The life of Christ is an unanswerable argument in favor of 
Christianity, yea, of the Bible itself. When Christ is seen to 
be the great central object in the Bible, and the true ideal of 
Christian life, all contentions about minor, unimportant details 
will necessarily cease. When Christ is magnified and held up 
as 4 ‘the all in all,” this one colossal figure will hold the atten- 
tion of men. Then it will be seen that Christianity is not a 
philosophy, nor a system of doctrines, nor an evanescent sigh, 
nor a vapory tear, but a real life lived, word spoken, and action 
done — a living reproduction of the Divine Christ in the lives of 
men. To this form of Christian argument there is no answer. 
Then trials for heresy will be impossible, because the real 
heresy, a false life, will be its own condemnation. 

3. It will make the modern pulpit apostolic. In studying 
the apostolic models of preaching, one can not fail to be im- 
pressed with the entire absence of anything like speculative 
theology. The apostles never dwelt on metaphysical defini- 
tions, or formal statements of what, in their judgment, consti- 
tuted the essential points of Christian faith. The one essential 
item that was never omitted was a crucified and risen Re- 
deemer. Personal trust in a personal, living Christ was the one 
thing essential. If this faith eventuated in action, it was 
living ; if not, it was dead, and there the analysis ended. If a 
man preached Jesus he preached the faith. If he persecuted 
Jesus, or his followers, he destroyed the faith. If he obeyed 
Jesus, he was obedient to the faith; and if he forsook Jesus, 


THE CREED THAT HEEDS NO REVISION. 


261 


he forsook the faith. To believe on Jesus, and obey him, was 
salvation ; to disbelieve was damnation. Paul may have had 
theories concerning the Trinity, the incarnation, the atone- 
ment, inspiration, and many other intricate theological ques- 
tions, but he never intimated that belief in any of these 
theories constituted Christian faith, or any part of Christian 
faith. The Christian faith, objectively considered, was a cruci- 
fied and risen Saviour. This creed never needed revision. It 
was the same in Athens that it was in Philippi ; the same in 
Rome as in Corinth. Subjectively, it was a personal trust in 
the risen, living Christ. When the Christian pulpit shall 
return from its metaphysical speculation concerning the un- 
known and unfathomable mysteries connected with God and 
his wondruos system of salvation to the simplicity of the Gospel, 
the sermons will have the Pauline and Petrine ring, and Pente- 
costal results will be seen. Nay, these results are seen to-day 
in proportion to the fidelity with which preachers adhere to 
this simple creed. 

4. It will marry in divorceless union faith and action. It 
is very common to hear men say, “It makes no difference 
what a man believes, if he only does right.” This declaration 
is based on the assumption that there is no necessary relation 
between faith and life. If theological dogmas constitute the 
real essence of a true life, this would seem to be in some 
measure true, for people professing to believe the most contrary 
doctrines, are very similar in life. In actual practice the Cal- 
vinist and Arminian are one. Both pray to the same God, 
through the same Mediator. Both preach the same gospel, 
and demand the same obedience, and teach the same practical 
Christian duties. Both go to the very ends of the earth with 
the message of salvation, and pray as if all depended on God, 
and act as if all depended on man. Is it any wonder that 
some have said, “It makes no difference what a man believes, 
if he only does right”? But a closer scrutiny will reveal the 


262 


THE GREAT SALVATION. 


fact that behind the tenets about which men dispute, there is 
a vital creed that rules the life in its larger aspects and grander 
currents that all possess in common. This creed is simply 
Christ in the heart, of which the words, “ I believe with all 
my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God,” are the best 
verbal expression. This is the vital creed behind all true 
Christian life. 

5. It will destroy the necessity for all other creeds. One 
great object of creed-makers has been to embody, in formu- 
lated doctrines, the essential truths. They have sought to be 
comprehensive in their statements. The Bible has been culled, 
and its great doctrines been laid hold upon according to the 
mental grasp and comprehension of the various theological 
teachers, and expressed with various degrees of vigor and 
clearness — oftentimes, however, in language utterly incompre- 
hensible to the common mind. To reject any of these has 
seemed, to their adherents, to be a rejection of essential truth. 
Hence good men, in order to preserve the purity of the faith, 
have become religious polemics and heresy-hunters. This has 
been the seed fruitful of persecutions, and all the train of 
religious follies that have wasted the church and cursed the 
world. Here, too, is born the necessity for revised creeds and 
new formulations, in order to keep pace with the new views 
and enlarged conceptions of truth that necessarily come to 
the true student of God’s word. There must be, there is, a 
better way. Some creed must be found so expansive, so all- 
embracing, so clearly formulated, that it will swallow up in 
itself not only the truths of all other creeds, but all new truths 
and all larger conceptions that the future may have in keeping 
must be embraced in it. Such a creed was given to us by 
Jesus in his answer to Pilate, when he confessed himself to be 
the Son of God, thus expressing the very essence of his person- 
ality. This Paul calls the good confession, and it constitutes 
the sum total of all Bible truth. To accept it means to accept 


THE CREED THAT NEEDS NO REVISION. 263 

Jesus in his three-fold office of Prophet, Priest, and King, 
wherein he meets man with deliverance at his three great 
points of weakness : as a Prophet, to save man from his igno- 
rance ; as a Priest, to save him from his sin ; as a King, to rule 
his life and save him from death. Does the objector say it is 
not comprehensive ? Let him sit down and write until he has 
formulated every possible essential Christian truth according to 
his best conception. With prophetic vision let him look down 
the future and drag from its keeping the loftiest, deepest, 
grandest conception that will be born of the human mind ; and 
when he is done, all, and more, will be embraced in the simple 
Divine formula, “I believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ 
is the Son of God,” because it is an expression of faith in him 
who said, “ I am the truth.” 

6. It will obliterate all artificial and arbitrary distinctions 
that dishonor and degrade our common humanity, and it will 
bring about a practical recognition of the great truth that out 
of one blood God hath made all nations that dwell on the face 
of the earth. The oriental nations are cursed by caste ; the 
occidental nations by class distinctions. Even in democratic 
America we hear much said about higher and lower orders of 
the people ; and unfortunately, these distinctions are based on 
the purely accidental circumstances that attach to humanity. 
The inherent dignity and nobility of man, as such, are entirely 
lost sight of, or ignored. There needs to be a great leveling 
process. These artificial barriers must needs be swept away, 
and this work, so necessary to the highest good of man, this 
creed that needs no revision is destined to accomplish. The 
Carpenter at Nazareth, in whose estimation a single humble 
soul was worth more than all the world beside, is destined to 
lead this humanity up to the fullest recognition of the dignity 
and nobility of man, as such, and to bring all men onto the 
plane of universal brotherhood, not by degrading all to the 
lowest level, but by lifting all to the highest possible plane of 


264 


THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 


human character and worth. His leveling process is a lifting 
process, that draws all men up to the sublime heights of moral 
grandeur on which he stands, and from which he reaches down 
to lift up a world. 

7. It will unite the children of God in the strong bond of 
universal Christian fellowship. Too long already the efforts 
of God’s people have been paralyzed ; the resources of the 
church wasted ; the spiritual joys of believers marred by un- 
seemly strife. Too long has spiritual intercourse between the 
people of God been hindered by unholy divisions. It is high 
time that the oneness of God’s people — the condition upon 
which the conversion of the world is suspended — were realized. 
When the essential creed of Christendom shall be reduced to 
a simple personal trust in a divine personal Saviour, this result, 
so much to be coveted, will be attained. Then the auspicious 
day for which Christ prayed, and to which all generous Chris- 
tian souls are looking, will appear. Then the dominion of the 
King will spread 4 4 from sea to sea and from the river to the 
ends of the earth.” Then will ascend the shout of victory 
that will be answered back by exultant angels : “Hallelujah, 
the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth!” The redeemed 
world will then rejoice in the 4 4 Fatherhood of God and the 
brotherhood of man. The lion and the lamb will lie down 
together, and peace, like the mighty ocean, will hold all lands 
in its embrace. 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER I. 

Sin and Its Cure 1-12 

Wide application of the doctrine of Trinity i 

The three steps leading to corresponding conditions 2 

Three wills to be considered 3 

The Salvation of Man the Great Purpose of God 3-9 

The harmonizing of man’s will with God’s will - 3 

Contrast between the material and intellectual worlds 3-4 

Salvation reached without violating man’s nature 4 

Salvation recognizes three actual or possible states 5-6 

Salvation contemplates a threefold blessing 6-7 

Salvation involves a threefold divine work 7-9 

God’s Purpose Realized Through Three Dispensations 9-12 

Patriarchal dispensation 9-10 

Mosaic dispensation : A national religion 10-n 

Christian dispensation : The realization of the divine purpose 11-12 

CHAPTER II. 

Superior Excellence of the Christian Dispensation 13-28 

This dispensation spiritual ; called glorious 13 

Christianity : Its Points of Superiority 13-20 

Superiority shown by its relation to preceding dispensations 13-15 

Perfection witnessed in its fundamental offices — Prophet, Priest, King, 15-17 

Perfection seen in the method of developing and regulating character 

and life 17-20 

“When the Bible Speaks We Speak;” the Aphorism Prop- 
erly Applied and Misapplied 20-28 

Stress laid on the authority of God’s word 20 

Aphorism capable of perversion 20-2 1 

The field wherein the aphorism applies; analysis of the problem 

Christianity has to solve 21-22 

Ever changing human conditions; how this affects the problem 22-23 

Specific examples showing impossibility of applying aphorism in field 

of human conditions 23-27 

Confusion resulting from wrong application of the aphorism 27-28 


266 


THE GREAT SALVATION . 


CHAPTER III. 

The Fullness of Time 29-55 

The question stated 29 

Points characteristic of the Divine method of working 29-31 

The Work of Preparation Accomplished by the Hebrew 

Nation 31-37 

A bulwork against the encroachment of idolatry 31-32 

The Messianic idea kept alive and developed 32 

Conception of one true and living God developed 32 

Solid foundation laid for the claims of Christ 33 

The inefficiency of law as a remedial system demonstrated 33 

The great missionary purpose of the Jewish nation 34-37 

The Work of Preparation Accomplished by the Greek 

Nation 37-42 

Value of the Greek language as a preparation for Christ 37-4° 

Contribution of Grecian philosophers to the preparation 40-42 

The Work of Preparation Accomplished by the Roman 

Nation 42-55 

The characteristic Roman thought 42 

Universal empire favorable to Christianity: It secured universal 

peace, great highways 42-44 

Preparation Among Other Nations 44-45 

A wide-spread expectancy: Jews, heathen oracles, Eastern philoso- 
phers, Latin historians, Greek philosophers — all testify to this 44-49 

Heathen oracles hushed 49-51 

The world had tried its own remedial schemes and had failed 52—55 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Foundation of the Kingdom of God 56-69 

Explanation of the phrase, “ Kingdom of God,” 56-57 

The Essential Anticedent Truth 57-60 

The great question propounded by Christ and the answer received— 57— 5S 

A still more direct question and the answer 58-59 

Jesus’ reception of the answer and the declaration founded on it 59-60 

The Great Central Truth 60-65 

The question of foundation important 60-6: 

The nature of the foundation of Christ’s kingdom 61-65 

As determined by the meaning of the word rock 61-64 

As determined by prophecy 64 

As determined by the view of Christ’s apostles 64-45 

The Important Consequent Truths 65-69 

The foundation determines the character of the government 65-66 


CONTENTS. 267 

The foundation determines the basis of citizenship 66-68 

The foundation determines the stability of the kingdom 68-69 

CHAPTER V. 

The Beginning of the Kingdom of God 70-90 

The kidgdom of God may be used in four senses : how used in this 

dicsussion 70-71 

Possible Views as to the Beginning of the Kingdom 71-74 

That the kingdom has existed from all eternity ; since the creation of 

man 71-72 

Since the deluge ; since the days of Abraham 72 

Since the days of John the Baptist; since Christ’s personal ministry. 73 

Since the first Pentecost after Christ’s resurrection; that it is still 

future 73 

The Period Limited to a Narrow Range by New Testamen' 

Teachers 74-76 

Teaching of John the Baptist; teaching of Christ 74-75 

Teaching of the apostles after Christ’s ascension 7 5-76 

Two important points established 1 76 

The Necessary Elements and Logical Obligations 76-78 

Four necessary elements 76 

Two necessary conditions 76-77 

The Beginning Determined by the Maturing of the Neces- 
sary Conditions 78-87 

The purpose of God had been made apparent 78 

The claims of the King established 78-79 

The nature and fundamental principles set forth 79-80 

A neuclus of prepared persons gotten ready 80 

The Gospel facts accomplished 80-82 

The resurrection firmly established 82 

The law of citizenship declared 82-83 

The King seated on the throne 83-85 

Review of the preparatory steps 85-87 

The Complete Work Contemplated in God’s Purpose Real- 
ized 87-90 

The waiting disciples ; descent of the Holy Spirit 87 

The sermon of Peter; the results of the sermon 87-88 

The elements of the kingdom present; -essential conditions met 88-89 

Advantages gained in finding the beginning 9 ° 

CHAPTER VI. 

Faith 90-110 

Divine acceptance rests on two pillars for support 9 1 


268 THE GREA T SAL VA TION. 

Importance of faith; faith as a basis is not an arbitrary decree 92 

Special Applications and Uses of the Term “ Faith ” 92-94 

It denotes the Christian system ; the Gospel precepts 92-93 

That which results in Godly life; the confidence begotten 93-94 

The Nature of Faith 94-103 

As determined by meaning of the Word 94 

Scripture use; it is confidence; it is persuasion • 94-95 

It lays hold of the heart; distinction between “ noos ” and “ kardia,” 96-97 

It results in action ; it is personal in its object 1 00 -1 03 

How Faith is Produced 103-109 

The question of “how”; human side simple 103 -104 

Faith produced in harmony with the mental constitution 104-106 

Scriptures clearly teach how faith is produced 106-107 

Faith the gift of God; direct and indirect gifts 107-108 

The Benefits of Faith 109-110 

It secures salvation ; mainspring oi action ; purifies the heart 109 

It sanctifies our actions; broadens our sympathies 109-110 

CHAPTER VII. 

Repentance 111-124 

The problem the Gospel has to meet ; what sin involves 1 1 1 

Salvation not an exercise of arbitrary power 112 

System of salvation a system of means adapted to ends 112 

The Great Importance of Repentance 113-114 

Not an arbitrary command ; can not be put here or there arbitrarily, 113 

Why God has enjoined repentance 1 14 

Meaning of Repentance 114-119 

Distinction between faith and repentance 1 14 

Not to be confounded with sorrow; nor with reformation 114-115 

The meaning of the term determined 115-116 

Meaning of the original word ; Scripture examples 116-118 

Repentance a broad term; can faith precede repentance 119 

Hindrances to Repentance 1 19-122 

Hindered by natural pride of the heart; feeling of sufficiency 119-121 

Carnal corrupt desires ; deceptive appearance of sin; procrastination 121-122 

Motives to repentance 1 22-1 24 

Goodness of God leads to repentance ; the interest felt by heavenly 

world 1 22-1 23 

Degrading character of sin; righteous judgments of God 123-124 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Confession 125-142 

Twofold bearing of the confession; for self, for the world 125-126 


CONTENTS. 


269 


The Necessary and Proper Confession of Faith 126-131 

The confession announced by God; by Christ 127-128 

Made by disciples; by others; by the apostles 128-129 

Testimony of church historians 130-131 

How and When the Confession Should be Made 131-133 

To be made with the mouth; made by every one 131-132 

The time when it should be made 132-132 

The Characteristics of the Confession 133-138 

It is simple ; comprehensive I 33~ I 35 

It places Jesus at the climactic point in soul’s salvation 135— 137 

Reasons for making the confession 138-142 

Demanded as first outward expression of faith 138 

We owe it to Christ; we owe it to God’s kingdom 138-140 

We owe it to man ; we owe it to ourselves 140-142 

CHAPTER IX. 

Baptism 143 - in 

No item of Christian faith more in dispute ; hopeful signs 143 

More of the Christ spirit needed ; some phases of the question ought 

to be settled * 143- 144 

Phases of the question that may not soon be settled 145 

Possible grounds of argument 145-146 

Importance of the Ordinance 147-150 

Practiced by John the Baptist ; honored by Christ 147 

Honored by God ; honored by the apostles 147-149 

Associated with salvation; introductory 149 

Intimately interwoven with the Christian system; all denominations 

admit its importance 149-150 

The Proper Subjects of Baptism 

As decided by the commission; by other Scriptures 150-157 

The Form of Baptism 157-168 

As determined by the meaning of the word 1 57 -I ^5 

Classic use; testimony of Hebrew scholarship 1 57 — 1 59 

Scholarship of the world from apostolic age onward 159-163 

History of affusion conclusive in favor of immersion 163-165 

As determined by New Teatament teaching 165-167 

As determined by metaphorical usage 167-168 

The Design of Baptism 168-171 

It is initiatory ; it is for remission of sins 168-170 

It is symbolical 171 




270 THE GREAT SALVATION. 

CHAPTER X. 

The Ministry of the Spirit - — 1 72-203 

Importance of the subject shown by Bible teaching 1 72-1 73 

Mysterious character of the subject 1 73-1 74 

Agency of the Spirit as Revealed in Old Testament 174-176 

Prominence Given to the Subject in Personal Ministry of 

Christ 176-179 

Prophetic utterances; Christ’s work accomplished through spirit’s 

agency 176-177 

This possession not confined to Christ 177-179 

A Distinction Between Extraordinary Spiritual Gifts and 

the Abiding Gift of Spirit 179-182 

Distinction shown by Christ’s language; by Paul 179-180 

Distinction shown by superiority ascribed to Christ’s gift 181-182 

The Final Step in the Progressive Unfolding 182-190 

The gradual increase of light 182-184 

Gift of the Holy Spirit stands out prominent 184 

One more preparatory step 184 

Pentecost and its great blessing 185 

Gift not limited to narrow circle ; signs accompanying 185-188 

Signs given served other purposes; materialistic tendency 188-190 

To Whom the Spirit was Given; Conditions 1 90-191 

Not to the world; but to believers 190 

Obedience a condition; prayer a condition ; a matter of Divine favor, 190-191 

Source of the Gift and Manner of Impartation 191-194 

Christ alone could baptize in the Spirit 191-192 

Spirit given in different measures 192 

Manner of bestowing it: a baptism, outpouring, drinking 192-193 . 

Work of the Spirit as it Relates to the Sinner 194-199 

Distinction between work of Spirit in conversion and gift of Spirit 194 

Erroneous teaching concerning work of Spirit in conversion 194 

Contrast presented to Scriptural process of conversion 195 

Does the Holy Spirit act mediately or immediately 195 

World unable to receive the Spirit; work of Spirit for world 196-197 

How the Spirit accomplishes its work 1 97-1 99 

Blessings Following the Indwelling of the Spirit 199-203 

To take the place of Christ’s bodily presence 199 

An agent in the development of Christian life 199-20 1 

A witness of sonship; makes moral heroes 201-203 


CONTENTS. 


271 


CHAPTER XL 

The Development of the Christ-Likeness 204-215 

Development of true character the aim of the gospel ! 204 

Salvation is progressive ; man’s possibilities 204-205 

The Active Principle at Work in Man’s Development 205-208 

Principle of growth in various forms of life 205 

Principle operative in development of character 206 

Man an imitative being; God’s recognition of this 206-207 

This principle not the fundamental thing 207 

The True Model for the Development of the Perfect Man 208-210 
Man generally proceeds along one of three lines in his search for good 208 

The Divine model is very different from this 208 

Abstractions have but little power 209 

The Conditions Necessary for True Development 210-21 5 

Development a gradual process 210 

Appropriation second condition of growth 212 

Distribution the third condition of growth 213 

The subject summed up 215 

APPENDIX 

CHAPTER I. 

Distinctive Plea of the Disciples 216-239 

‘Origin of the Disciples 216 

Grounds of Justification for a Distinctive Plea 217-220 

Claim for distinctive truths justified 1 217 

God’s way of giving truth; individual method; economic method 217-218 

Harmonious method ; opportune method ; gradually pervasive method 219-220 

Separate Organic Existence Justified 220-223 

Great truths committed to some distinct people 220 

This truth illustrated in history of ancient nations 220-221 

This truth illustrated in history of modern nations 221 

This truth illustrated in history of Protestantism 221-222 

The central truth not the only possession of a party 222 

How long a distinct party is necessary 222 

The Disciples’ Plea; Its Logical Place 223-226 

The Plea Stated 223 

Demanded by the logic of events 223 

Time had come to emphasize another truth 223-224 

The method suggested was simple and practical 224-225 

This plea the climax of reformation 225 

Benefits of a return to apostolic ground 225 


272 THE GEE A T SAL VA TION. 

A word of caution 226 

The Secondary Items of the Plea 226-236 

The question of name ; attitude toward creeds 226-230 

The question of baptism ; the question of conversion 230-234 

Views concerning God’s word 234-236 

Agencies at Work Contributing to the Success of the Plea. 236-238 
Y. M. and Y. W. Christian Associations and Y. P. S. C. E.; Inter- 
national S. S. Lessons 236-237 

Foreign Missions; Woman’s Temperance Union 237-238 

Promise of Success in Results Achieved 238-239 

Indirect results 238 

The direct results 239 

CHAPTER II. 

The Creed that Needs No Revision 240-264 

Three great factors involved in the problem of man’s good 240 

Best results in character secured through internal forces 240 

The Characteristics of the Creed that Needs No Revision. 241-249 

It must posses universality; it must be simple 241-242 

It must be profound ; it must have vitality 242-243 

It must be life-giving and practical; it must serve as a bond of fel- 
lowship 243-244 

It must furnish a model for imitation ; it must be a Divine incarnation 244-246 

It must be of such a nature that it can be easily translated 246 

It must be a complete revelation of God’s glory ; it must be perfect 247-248 

The Source of the Creed that Needs No Revision 249-253 

We are cut off from all human sources; it must come from God 249 

Nature, though Divine, is not the source 249-250 

The book of revelation the only source 250-253 

The creed is a perfect revelation embodied in a perfect life 253 

This Creed Meets all the Conditions Named 253-259 

It has universality ; it is simple; it has vitality 253-255 

It serves as a bond of fellowship; it is a perfect model 255-257 

It is an incarnation; it can be read by all men 257-258 

It reveals God’s glory ; it is perfect 258-259 

Benefits Resulting from Such a Creed 259-264 

It produces a feeling of restfulness 259 

It deprives infidelity of its most powerful weapon . 260 

It will make the modern pulpit apostolic 260-261 

It will marry in divorceless union faith and action 261-262 

It will destroy the necessity of all other creeds 262-263 

It will obliterate all arbitrary distinctions that degrade men 263 

It will unite the children of God in Christian fellowship 264 






0 









I 









Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: August 2005 








